Heart & Soul
by jakuken karasu
Summary: Aya Kietsu lives a seemingly normal life in Japan, bordering the supernatural- but that all changes when fate brings her on a quest to travel dimensions and she learns there's a lot more to it.FaixOC There are SPOILERS!
1. Prologue to my Madness

Sunlight streamed through the slim fissures of the window shades from the window adjacent to me on my right. I studied the specks of dust particles that floated within the thin light rays. Tanaka-Sensei was discussing the lessons for tomorrow's class, but like usual, I **never** payed attention and being in the very end of the room did not help that habit. The voices of my classmates,though...I could still make them out, the consistent flow of it all.....The same foolish gossip from the lively, peppy group of schoolgirls....the familiar sound of the boys talking about sports and other after-school activities .....

I sighed a little and took a deep whiff of the musty air. Today, although it was practically like any other day...to me, it felt like a special day. Like something was to happen...good or sorrowful, I had no presumptions of what it could possibly be. The atmosphere felt like that of when a shot is being held back before the beginning of a battle. Although everyone was talking, it felt silent.

My name? _Aya Kietsu _喜び 彩 Third Year in High School. I live alone now since my mother died last year from a rare illness and my father had died long ago when I was three in a car accident.

My mother had been a dream-seer. She had been able to see that in which is to forecome in her dreams. Back when she was alive, she would tell me I too, have the same power...but I am still too young to understand how it works. I can still remember seeing sitting out on the porch, pulling out her long, red and gold embroidered *kiseru and taking a nice big huff of smoke from the end. Although my mother always seemed to be a very nonchalant, I could always see the tension that flowed in her eyes. She had told me, before she had died, that I was fated with something that would open up my past for me. What that means...I've been trying to figure that out ever since.

Suddenly, my best and closest friend, Masumi Shimizu, popped up next to my desk. Her mouth in that same smug grin that she wore practically all the time. But I knew at times, that when she smiled, it didn't always mean she was happy.

_Masumi Shimizu_ 清水真澄 Third Year in High School. She is living with her grandmother at her family's shrine, since her grandmother is a spiritualist. Although her grandmother can contact the dead and see them, Masumi did not inherit that same power....but instead, Masumi had two curses. Her grandmother had explained that a story had been passed in their family for generations, that 7th granddaughter of the family would hold the burden of two curses. The first curse would be that her parents would die when she was born and the second was that she would be able to hear the evil intentions of those around her, but she would not be able to tell anyone the things she heard, or the person closest to her would die.

"Aya!," she said with a huge smile,"Its Friday! And you know what that means! Fried tofu, miso, and soba at my place!~ My grandmother's specialty!" She winked at me.

I chuckled, "Yeah yeah, I know, its practically a tradition now. Say, do we have anything in calculus today?"

"Nope. Its a free weekend! And maybe you could stay overnight!" She pouted,"...You're always alone in that small box, seriously, why don't you just live with Oba-san and I?"

"Hmph! Oi, its not a 'small box', its an apartment! And....I like that apartment?"

We started to walk out into the hallway.

"Ha! First you're protecting the so-called pride of the place, then you're questioning if you even like it!" She rolled her eyes at me "You're strange as ever, Aya."

I whimpered a bit at the comment. "I suppose...."

We walked out of the schoolyard and down the rest of the street in silence. We passed by a few pedestrians, a few normal metropolitan-type buildings....until my eyes rested upon a white picket fence. It was an oddity. It didn't fit with the rest of the city scenery I was accustomed to. There was _something behind it..._. but when I glanced over the gate, I saw nothing but an empty, grass-filled lot. I eyed Masumi, who was staring too, looking intrigued.

She frowned"That's weird...how the gate and the fence are there, but behind it, there is nothing. Plus, I could've sworn I just saw a tall boy with black hair and glasses walk in there. He was wearing a uniform from our school too...."

"You did?"

She nodded,"No lie. I saw him while you were turned away....but...," she quickly shined a smile at me,"It could have just been my imagination!~"

I forced a small smile"Yeah maybe...but..."I looked back at the fence. _Something tells me it isn't....

* * *

_

_*On a little note, a kiseru in Japan is a long and slender pipe that is used to smoke. It is not used much in modern days. If you have seen or read "XxxHolic"_,_ you may have seen Yuuko smoking one._

**Anyway, first attempt at a Tsubasa/XxxHolic fanfic as well as a fanfic with OC's in it. This chapter really is sort of like a prolouge to give some background to the characters and to give the story a place to start. Should I continue? :)**


	2. Friend

**Well for the couple of hits I got and for my mind that is overflowing with ideas, I decided it best to continue what I started. Honestly, I had already began chp 2 a few weeks ago, but all that was lost when my computer crashed and I had to fix it -__- not fun...and thus, this story was left in the dust for a while.  
**

**So finally, an actual chapter, where the adventure begins!~woo~**

**Anyway, enough talk from lil annoying ol' meh. '^^

* * *

**

_Aya's POV_

Dinner at Masumi's house had been a fun and warming experience like always. Her grandmother was very kind to me, always treated me like a second granddaughter. But, the strange thing with today's dinner was....it was eerily quiet. Despite all of us talking, the excitement was missing today. The usual scenario of....hmm I dunno, noodles being thrown across the table, plenty of sake(Japanese liquor, for her grandmother of course, I wouldn't dare drink the stuff, it made my nose wrinkle.), rude remarks, lots of laughter. Tonight, it was just a simple conversation, mostly about how school was. I kept noticing Masumi giving me quick glances and then turning over to look out the back door. I pretended to not notice, since she obviously hadn't caught me staring. It made my stomach churn a bit. I could tell when she was keeping something from me that she didn't want to spit out. I stood up.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm not feeling well...", I slurred, trying to make my best sick impersonation.

"Do you want me to come with you?", I looked over at Masumi who had a slight look of concern.

"Nah, I'd rather go by myself, I know the way to my room here. Thanks though."I waved my hand a little as I started walking.

The room was down the hall, to the right. It was small and it was connected to the porch by a little door, so I could sit out there on the futon for a little bit.

I sighed. What the heck was bothering Masumi? It obviously had something to do with me. I got into trouble for a lot of things, but I could protect myself....

Before my next thought could rant more with my mind, a hand appeared out of nowhere in front of my face! A _friggin_hand!

"W-WHAT THE HELL!?"

The hand was large, and it appeared to be coming from this slit in the air. It pointed at me.

**"Aya Kietsu, the time has come for you to now make your decision,"** A deep voice spoke.

I tried to calm down to answer,"W-w-what decision?"

I could have sworn I heard a small chuckle,**" Of course, you don't have that memory, for I erased it from you, since it was not important. Very well then, the decision to find the power that is yours and to make your journey, for your wish, as well as mine."**

"Power? What power? And I have a wish?....yeah, I wish to wake up from this creepy dream. I thought the one with the dancing broccoli was weird but.... I can't believe I fell asleep on the porch..."

The finger pointed sharply at me.**"Enough. This is no dream. It is in fact, reality. There a different worlds, I am, right now, talking to you from a different dimension, possibly even a different time. There a many worlds, that are in many different times. The power I speak of you will figure out on the journey ahead, as for your wish, you will learn with time. I can help you grant your wish, but first you must grant min-"**

**"AGGGH! How?-This is not possible!" **The voice shrieked as the portal from which it spoke dissolved.

What...what was going on?

_"Don't you dare try that on Aya."_

I blacked out and landed in a dark space. A void.

!!!!!!!

"MOTHER!? Was that you!? Well....your voice!?" The voice from earlier, that cut off the portal of the hand, had been my mother's? But how was it possible?!

My mother's form suddenly appeared before me, slightly translucent.

_"Yes...it is me Aya_,"she looked down sadly at me,_"Its nice to see how you've grown....I'm happy, I arrived in time."_

I almost cried, I attempted to give her a hug, but I went right through her.

_"You can not hug spirits of the dead, Aya....I am sorry."_

I nodded sadly and did my best to change the subject." So....How am I talking to you?" I had just realized I was talking to my mother who was supposed to be d-e-a-d.

She smiled a little, her eyes amused," _I was a dreamseer, no? This is a dream, and I am connecting with you through it, since you too have that ability."_

"I see.....but wait! What was the voice in the portal saying? I had no idea...the things he said...they made no sense..."

My mother closed her eyes,_"In time Aya...you will understand. I can not play with fate, I must let it take its course. The very fact that I am talking to you right now might change the future drastically. I hope it is, in turn, for the the better."_

She stared up, looking into the dark, nothingness. A cool breeze blew down.

_"It is my time, Aya. I have stayed too long. Good luck...with everything you will face and the people you shall meet." _She started to float away._  
_

"No, mother! I want to spend some more time with you! I still have things I need to ask!-"

Her voice was now distant,_"Another time, maybe, my love. Another time....."_

My eyes shot open. I was back on the porch....well actually inside my room at the shrine. Masumi was beside me.

"Ah, good, you're awake! I was getting worried you were in a coma!" She huffed in relief.

I put my hand on my forehead,"Heh, yeah. Thank you for the concern, I had a little headache and I must have dozed off out there."

"You saw something didn't you Aya?"

I froze,"Y-yes....how did you know?"

She bowed her head a little,"It will all be explained Aya, now that you are ready for the quest. It is time to see _her."_


	3. The Inevitable Meeting

**Hello~**

**I would like to thank my first reviewer, andre-95! XD For putting plenty of confidence and inspiration in me! What you said, really meant a lot to me.*gives u bear hug* ;3( I too, adore OC stories, but *sighs* so few to come across)  
**

**And without further adieu, I don't own CLAMP or any of its characters, blah blah.... to the story:  
**

**

* * *

**

"Eh? _Her? _Who the heck is _her? _And you know about the quest?_"_ I grabbed her shoulders and shook her a frantically.

Masumi looked up dizzily and then smiled teasingly," Aha!~ I actually have no clue! You were talking in your sleep about some journey or something and all, I thought a little joke wouldn't hurt!~"

I glared at her. I tried punched her a little in the side, but it got easily dodged,"Don't do things like that, you freaked me out for a second."

"Aw~you have no sense of humor, Aya. You should have seen your face!", she poked me in the cheek.

I sighed and pushed her hand away,"Enough of the silly stuff for now. Masumi...what's been bothering you?"

She was smiling still, but I could see it faltered a little," What are you talking about?"

"You...agh, never mind." I sighed. Now that she knew that I noticed, the truth would never be revealed and she'd keep the little _façade_. My fault.

She quickly changed the subject."Oh, alright then. Anyway, I was wondering, now that you're up, if you wanted to come to the store with me. We need to stock up the fridge."

"Ah, sure," I grabbed my shoes in the corner of the room," Are you bringing the umbrella? I heard it might rain tonight."

"Yep, got it right here."

On the way out, Masumi hugged her grandmother. I did the same.

As we walked out the door, she wished us a safe trip and to make it back home safely....someday. Did I hear her say someday!? Maybe the Alzheimer was getting to her or something. I turned to look back at the old woman, but she was already gone. Heh...she was fast for her years...strange.

* * *

Right when we walked out from the supermarket, the downpour came. It reminded me of my father a little. One of the things I could still remember about him was that he always enjoyed a nice refreshing rain. That brought me back to the dream earlier....my mother had been pretty worried about whoever that was that spoke to me earlier. I'm still traumatized by the very fact that a fat _hand_ from another dimension had been talking to me. I sulked my head a little, the strange things always happened to _me._

Masumi looked over,"What's wrong? Hate the rain?~" She tried to let the umbrella cover my side more.

I shook my head,"No...I just...earlier, I had a dream with my mother in it, she- whoa...."

"She what? Why'd you stop? 'whoa?'...", she turned to where I was staring,"...oh."

It was the fence we had passed earlier today. Nothing had changed really except that now there was a _house_ behind it. No empty lot. I hadn't even noticed that we'd walked on this street again.

"I could have sworn when we walked by earlier, it was empty...am I wrong?"

She shook her head,"No, I looked too, it was empty earlier..."

I suddenly felt this urge to walk past the fence and to the house.

"Something...I have to go there..."

Surprisingly, Masumi didn't object and followed me past the fence. Maybe it was pulling her in too? _Freaky..._

It was a unique looking house, but it also had an old feel to it. There were two small girls standing by the door, one had short pink hair, the other had long blue hair in pig tails. Sisters I was guessing....the hair colors were strange though, probably dye. My mother would never have let me dye my hair when I was that young. They both chanted happily in unison.

"Cus~to~mers! For Yuu~ko!" They held hands and ran into the house. I suppose that was an invitation for us to follow? I just guessed that, since Masumi followed them pretty calmly. Me? I'm freaking out already.

When we walked inside, we were greeted by a very tall, slender...but beautiful woman. She had long, silky black hair and crimson eyes. Her skin was as pale as the moon. She was wearing a black and white dress. She grinned a little and spoke up.

"Ah~Thank you Maru, Moro, for escorting the guests in."

I gulped and gave into a little courage to speak," Um....excuse me um..."

"Yuuko will be fine."

"Er....Yuuko. Where exactly are we?"

"You are both in my shop, that means you both have a wish you want to make."

"Eh? A wish?"

"Precisely. For people to enter my shop, they must have a wish in mind. I can grant that wish, if it is within my power"

"Hnnnn.....is that why we couldn't see this place earlier? We had no wish?"

"Indeed. I placed a magical border around this shop."

"Whoa! Magic is real?!"

Her creepy grin got wider, I backed up a little," You who has contacted the dead through a dream, spoken to someone of another dimension, refuses to believe in such a thing?"

"...well when you put it that way....wait! How did you know about those things!?"

"Not-tell-ing~" she said teasingly. Masumi chuckled in the back. _Great, its like being 5 again, when no one takes you seriously._

"Whatever. So now I have a wish? I don't feel much different about anything."

"Ah, but a lot has happened these past few hours. That is fine if you don't know there-"

"But....but there is something I want to learn!...What the person behind the portal was talking about and what my mother means by my fate. If my mother is suggesting it, I must do what I can. It is after all, an issue she was so worried about that she came out of her rest to guide me."

"Very well then, to grant that wish....we will just have to wait a few moments. Is that truly what you wish for?"

"....Yes."

"I shall grant that wish then. And you?" She looked around me at Masumi.

"My wish...."Masumi stared at Yuuko intently.

Yuuko nodded."That will be fine.....I shall grant that wish as well. Please, both of you, follow me, the others are about to arrive."

_There are others???!!!_

She led us through the shop and into the backyard, which was pretty much a grassy lawn. She stared up at the sky.

"Huh? What are you staring at? Why are we just standing here?" I sweat-dropped when I looked up. Coming from the sky was this violet-blue blob. When it hit the ground, it bursted like the bubble. Out came a young boy looking no older than sixteen with brown hair and brown, determined eyes. He was holding a motionless girl with light brown hair. They were both wearing strange clothes. Like they lived in a desert or something...the girl's clothes were fancier though....

The boy looked around confused at first, but then noticed Yuuko, "Please.....please save Sakura! I beg you!", he pleaded.

Yuuko stared at the boy calmly and then looked at the sky again. Great, two more scary blobs came down. With one, a man with a head...mask...band thing on his head, black hair, tan skin, and red eyes came out of one. He looked like a ninja from a manga. I guess it was the katakana he was holding.

The other person from the other blob was wearing a fur coat with a beautiful embroidered design. He had blond hair, and his eyes were an icy blue color. He was holding a long staff. He smiled widely. I twitched. It resembled Masumi's pasted-on-smile closely.

"P-people...f-from the sky....not possible....", I said in disbelief. The brown haired boy seemed just as surprised.

Masumi just clapped next to me,"Woo~that was amazing~Again, again!~"

The ninja spoke up," Ah? Where the hell am I? Who are you people?!" He pointed at Masumi and I. I frowned a little bit. _Pointing...how rude...not that I probably wouldn't have reacted in the same fashion after falling from a blob in the sky....I'll let it slide, Naruto wannabee cosplayer.  
_

Yuuko answered,"They are just other customers of mine. You are in Japan."

"Huh? But the place I just came from is Japan."

"This is a different Japan,"she looked at us all,"I'd like names, starting with you." She pointed at the ninja.

"Me? I'm Kurogane.

"Syaoran,"The boy answered.

The blonde bowed a little,"Fai D. Flourite, a wizard of Celes Country, you are the Dimensional Witch, correct?"

"Indeed I am. I can grant your wishes if they are in my power."

"A wish? I wish to be sent back to the place I just came from,"the ninja answered

"And I wish to never return to the world I just came from," the blonde wizard said right afterward.

They both stared at each other awkwardly.

Yuuko nodded at the two and then proceeded over to the boy known as Syaoran, carrying the girl named Sakura. She placed her hand on the girl's forehead.

"This girl...has lost something very precious to her. Her memories, in the form of feathers....they have scattered to different dimensions. If you wish to save her, you must gather them."

The boy answered,"Or else?...."

Yuuko looked at him,"She will die."

The boy's eyes widened, I could see his arms wrap around her tighter.

She glanced at us all,"Although each of your intentions are different, its all the same. You all wish to travel different dimensions. The payment for that wish is high, therefore I can each make you pay something to add onto the total payment. You can all travel dimensions together."

I laughed sarcastically,"Ha! I knew there was a catch! No free wishes, huh?"

"The worlds must keep in balance. To give something for something of equal value is just a way of keeping that balance."

Masumi spoke up,"Wait....you are going to send us with them?"

"Yes. Your wishes are the same as theirs. To fulfill them, you must travel across dimensions as well."

I sighed,"This dimension stuff still isn't clicking with me. Its hard to get used to."

"Well, just look at the people before you now. Just by looking at their clothes, you can tell they obviously are not from this world."

_Well I couldn't argue with that._

"Anyway, for the payments," Yuuko stared at Kurogane,"Your payment will be that katakana you're holding."

"WHAT!? No way in hell! Ginryuu is my life!", he yelled, taking a step back.

"Oho~? Very well then. There are no other people in this world who can travel to different dimensions."

Fai nodded cheerfully, "Yep, that's true."

Yuuko smirked, "You can stay here if you want, wandering around aimlessly like some loser of a costume contest, lugging around a sword, only to be arrested by police for illegal weapon possession, and shown to the world on television news."

"Poli....Tele....," he mumbled confused. He looked down at the ground angrily and held out his sword.

"When this curse is over, I'll be back for it!" he growled.

The sword floated from his hands, and into the Maru girl's arms.

Yuuko then looked at the wizard,"Your payment is that tattoo of yours."

_A tattoo? Is it magical or something? hmph..._

He looked surprised for the first time," I guess this magic staff won't suffice?"

"It must be something of equal value to your wish."

"Very well then....there's no helping it", he answered in defeat. I saw the tattoo float from his back, to the Moro girl.

"As for you Syaoran, your payment is....your Relationship."

"Relationship?"

"Even if you find all her feathers, the memories of you will not be in any of them. That is your payment. It is the most important thing to you."

I could see him thinking it over.

"What is she to you?" Yuuko asked.

"She....Sakura is my close, child-hood friend, I won't let her die. I will pay."

I was a bit taken back by the boy's abruptness. He truly cared for the girl.

Even Yuuko brightened up by this,"Determination and quick resolve, you will need that on this journey. I like your attitude."

She turned to Masumi,"Your payment, shall be the ability to return to this world outside the shop barriers."

Masumi gasped, she looked absolutely terrified. It was the first time in a while I saw her like that.

"Why so shocked? Is it not your most cherished thing? You love this world very much and are bound deeply to the people you've met here."

She looked down solemnly, "That is true....but...I accept that payment."

I looked at Masumi sadly. She would not be able to see her grandmother again...her only family she had known...

Before I could ponder more, Yuuko turned to me," Your payment will be the memories of your father."

"What?!"

"They are your most precious item. You care about your mother, but you treasure the memories of your father more because there isn't that much to remember to begin with."

I thought about it for a moment. If my father were still alive....he would have probably told me to pay that price for mother's sake. He was an unselfish person as I remembered...I would be the same.

"I will pay that."

She closed her eyes and smiled,"The last payment has been made....Watanuki, please hand me what I asked you to get."

"Oh, yes."

The boy from earlier Masumi had said she saw with the glasses and our uniform, appeared from behind Yuuko. He was carrying two furry looking creatures. One had black fur and a blue gem on its forehead, the other had white fur and a red gem on its forehead. He handed the white one to Yuuko.

Yuuko held out the creature,"This little one here is Mokona. It will take you to different dimensions, though, the world you land in will be varied. So the chance that you will end up in your own world will be 50/50 chance."

Kurogane grumbled in disapproval,"If that's how its gonna be, can't I just take the other furry thing and be on my way?"

"The other Mokona cannot travel to dimensions and will only be used as means of communication between us."

The ninja scowled and looked the other way.

"Traveling through different dimensions will be more difficult than you imagined. There are many worlds. There are worlds full of criminals, full of hate and lies, worlds on the brink of war. In one world you may find the same person living in a different one, leading a different life. You may even bump into other versions of yourselves. The very fact that we are all here is 'hitsuzen'. It was inevitable that you would all meet here today."

Hitsuzen....my mother used to say that very often. Same with Masumi's grandmother....I never really wanted to believe that there was no coincidence, but...this situation called for me to believe just a little now.

"The journey is only just beginning, don't forget that. Now go forth."

Mokona jumped into the air, wings sprouted from its back. All around the 6 us, colorful waves were sprouting from the creature's mouth.

Suddenly, we were all sucked into a hole, traveling to the next world.

My day had changed for tediously normal to dreadfully abnormal.

* * *

**Woot! I have to say, this chapter was very difficult in the way I had to sort of transition from their daily lives to joining the adventure. Then I had to sort of follow the dialogue, of course, I changed it around a bit to fit in the OC's. It took me a couple hours instead of a couple days since I just now feel so into the story XD **

**I'm gonna take a really big nap now. -__-'  
**


	4. Understandings

_**Jaku-chan here,**_

**It felt good to once again get back to this story after all the papers I had to write. I had my friend look at the chapters so far when she came over my house today, and she says that Aya is most definitely my creation because of her spazzy ego(as opposed to her sometimes calm composure like in the beginning), her sarcastic and wry remarks, but yet her ability to sort of understand the people around her.(especially Masumi and most likely later...Fai?....o.O well this is an OC story after all, but I'm not spoiling much....well actually I haven't planned what is to happen next, most of it is on the fly haha) She said it totally fit me. I guess its as they say "The author makes their protagonists their ideals or their equals." (heh...do they say that? '^^)**

**Anyway....  
**

**The reviewer I forgot to thank last chapter, gomen! thesimplethingsinlife:Aw, thank you, I really am happy you enjoy it then XD I'm trying to get that one done, but that one for now will currently be on hold. I'm trying to know what should happen next again since I lost the two chapters I had typed up since my computer had crashed last month -_- Work....wasted...Plus I haven't watched or read PH in a while, my mem of it is a little fuzzy T~T  
**

**andre-95: Yep, Masumi's wish will be kept a secret for now ;D The catch is: Aya has no idea either.(gomen, I guess I forgot to add Aya complaining in her mind about not knowing the wish last chp! I will do something about that!) Its up to you to wonder how Yuuko already knew what Masumi's wish was. I plan to let the secret out in a later chapter, her character's personality and past is something I want to reveal gradually. Same with Aya. With the way things are going, this story will be very long, I can tell. It will be hard for me to end. XD  
**

**coolmissy11d12:*blushes a bit* W-why thank you, I am honored! o///O And yes, I just wanted something different than the same pattern, I wanted the OC to really have its own story and life that slowly mixed into the tsubasa story. I'm really glad that it reminded you of you and your best friend also^^ I guess it is sort of a different twist to have 2 OC's, I just needed a backing up character for Aya. And I'm also excited you caught that about Masumi's personality! :D I was trying to make that impression. Oh and I will definitely check out your story then!~Kya~!**

**_Disclaimer:I don't own CLAMP or its characters....(I wish I did. ^^ haha)_

* * *

**

Talking hands from other dimensions, friends with curses and an exorcist grandma who says strange things and can walk really fast. A mother who can talk to you through dreams, even when she's dead......yeah I could deal with that.

But this....this whole thing....it was like being the spectator of a UFO sighting, only it was going to make you seem ten times more and insane if you told anyone normal about it. Actually...thinking about it, was there _any_ person out there who was in literal terms, normal. Anyway, no one back home would believe _this:_

I met a witch, who claimed to be able to grant my greatest wish of the moment that was in her power and in my budget(did I forget to mention she was a miserly witch?).She sent me on a journey with my best friend and travelers from other worlds to search out my wish and their wishes. I had been sucked into this bunny thing's mouth and I was now floating in a vast, tunnel-like space, traveling to another dimension. It sounds like the perfect adventure-fantasy manga, narrated by yours truly. _Badaboom._

I could feel the vein popping a little on the side of my skull. I had been so calm about this a few minutes ago....and now...the whole thing just felt so damn troublesome! I don't know what the hell I had been thinking earlier, but so many worrying thoughts floated through my mind:_"Masumi's grandmother must be worried to death, thinking we were kidnapped or worse!"...."Depending on how long I'm gone, I might have to take 2 years worth of make-up classes!**2 whole years!**Maybe even more!_ _"...."And Masumi! She acts perfectly fine with this, she knows how much we'll miss at school!"....."Oh pocky sticks, Masumi can't even return to our world"...."Wait...Masumi!"_

I'd totally forgotten about how queasy I had felt earlier about Masumi's demeanor at the witch's shop. I mean...I kept it to myself, but I didn't like how she had been unusually quiet. And her wish....

_*Flashback*_

_Yuuko looked around me and stared at Masumi,"And you? What is it you wish for?"_

_Masumi gave Yuuko and intense stare,"My wish..." She stopped there._

_Yuuko simply nodded,"That will be fine." _

_*End Flashback*_

.....I didn't even know what the hell it was! I sighed. It seemed like Yuuko could do practically anything that defied science, so all I could come up with was that she was telepathic and spoke with Masumi through her mind. But if that was true, then it was definitely something I wasn't supposed to find out. I felt a small bit of resentment at Masumi for keeping this from me, we were friends, no...almost like sisters. I'd known her since the end of grade school. She shouldn't have to hide things from me.

Then there was the payment of her wish. I felt a little guilty and wished it had been mine...my payment next to her's to me it seemed like an ant compared to a truck. She would never be able to return to her world,_ our_ world. Plus, she still had her grandmother there, I had nothing to return to. The size and the importance of her payment made me even more curious and anxious to find out her wish. And...she had looked so sad when Yuuko had asked her to pay with that....the saddest I had ever seen her for 5-6 years I'd known her....

Sighs...and like always, when I wanted time to myself, I never got it. That was because something uncanny and abnormal always showed up. Like how this screwy, odd-shaped floating ball was flying at me all of a sudden.

_"Crap."_ Pretty much the only word that I could mutter at the moment. I'm sure you'd do the same.

The floating ball was a blue-violet color. It was now in front of me. I put my hands over my eyes to block the bright glow coming from it.

"What the....?"

The floating ball changed form into a puma sort of creature. It looked at me apologetically and bowed its head forward.

"I am honestly sorry if I have scared thee. I do not mean harm, I wish to stand by your side if you will let me, master." It bowed its head lower.

"Whoa you talk so formal..... And 'master'?! Oh no no no! You can just call me, Aya. Not to be rude or anything...but what and who _are_ you?"

The puma nodded,"No rudeness taken. I am the guardian of those who posses the spark, Inazuma. I sense the 'spark' in you and might I say it is very strong. Which is why, I wish to serve you in searching for what you wish to find. I will stay with you." With that said, the puma shrank into a miniature ball, and absorbed into me through my chest-

**BONK!#**

"OWWWWWW!", I yelled.

"Hey, now now, quiet down, you'll make a scene," a stranger's voice answered. They sounded a little in pain.

I pushed myself up from a soft cushion and rubbed my eyes a little. I glanced around my surroundings. It was a pretty normal room, I was laying in a futon....so...

"It.....was a dream I guess...", I mumbled.

"What was?"

"Hnnnn!?", I turned my head in attention to the blonde haired man next to my futon. The wizard from earlier at the shop. He was wearing a huge smile. I noticed the small bump on his head and I frowned, rubbing the bump on mine.

"What the hell were you doing by my face, blondie?", I growled.

"Neh? Well first you were sleeping fine and then, you started whispering in your sleep, I thought it might be a nightmare. So I tried to listen, but then you were starting to wake up~" He put on that million dollar grin again.

I stared at him, with my signature exasperated stare I always gave Masumi which pretty much meant,'Don't give me that trash.'

He waved his hands back and forth a little,"I'm telling the truth. Anyway, is your head still hot? You were having a fever earlier." He put his hand on my forehead ,"Oh it still is, because-"

"Hey! Whoa!," I pushed his hand away," Stop touching me, pervert!"

"At least I'm not the one who's having the strange interpretations." He poked my nose," Per~vert."

"Gah! Its not like that! I was not thinking anything of the sort, its just....!"

"Just what?"

"Aggh, I hate you!" I threw one of my pillows in his direction, but it got dodged easily. _Can't I hit a blow at someone just once today!?...well technically it is already the next day...."_

"You don't even know me," he implied smugly.

"I don't care, I'm better off!"

"Well, alright. But you know, we'll be traveling on this journey after all which means~" He stretched my cheek a little,"We're~stuck~to~gether!~"

I smacked his hand from my face. Again. Uggh....the nausea was already settling in. But this whole scenario was oddly familiar that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I quickly blew that thought off. It was like I was accepting this torment.

"Anyway, before we get carried into another lovely conversation, allow me to introduce myself. My name is pretty long so you can just call me Fai." He flashed his smile, once again,"And you?"

I grumbled,"Fine. Aya Kietsu. I feel so _honored_ to meet you. Goodbye." I turned on my side, wanting to fall asleep again. Or maybe waking up to find that this all was just the strangest, most imaginative dream I ever had.

That's when I felt the irritating tugging and poking on my shoulder.

"Gosh...what!?"

"Don't you want to see the others? Your friend? And you can't stay in bed forever, you know."

I turned to look at him," Come to mention it....where are the others?"

He motioned his head over to the other side of the room,"I wanted you to actually keep the noise down a little because of them....though its hard to keep you quiet once you get started, ne~?" I gave him a quick glare, trying to hold in any comment. Still, I couldn't hold the fact that I felt a little tinge of guilt. The boy was....Syaoran, right? For some reason, I had remembered his name pretty well. He was sleeping in the futon opposite of mine, still clinging to the light brown haired girl....I couldn't remember her name too well, it was a flower or something....anyway, he seemed a lot more peaceful in his sleep than before. It seemed to be the right thing to give him that peace. I could be pretty slow sometimes, I'd admit that, but I knew that the boy was going through a lot.

I drooped my head over a little,"I'm sorry, I didn't know...."

"Heheh~Aya-chan is sympathetic."

"Ha, don't go putting the -chan behind my name like we're good friends or anything. That was a bold move, blondie. Anyway, I was apologizing to Syaoran."

"How can you apologize to him when he's not even awake, hm?"

I felt like pulling his mouth off sometimes,"I don't know! It just felt like the right thing to do...Even though I don't know him at all, I can tell already from earlier that he has a lot of stressful things he's going through....its good to get some rest."

Fai was silent for a moment, but he spoke up," You're right. Its good to give him some rest. Because when he wakes up, he'll be facing more things. _We'll_ be facing things. The witch said it herself,'Traveling through the dimensions will be more dangerous and risky than it seems.' There will be plenty of troubles on the road ahead. Right?"

I felt a little speechless,"Fai....", _maybe he was_-

"Like one trouble he'll be facing is Aya's temper!~"

_-never mind, still as annoying as hell._

"Sighs...yeah yeah. And to think I was about to believe you weren't that stupid and irritating. So where's Ninja boy and Masumi? Oh and the Mokona thing?"

"You mean Kuro-puu?"

"Kuro what!?"

"I can't stand to just call him 'Kurogane'. Its too irresistible to call him something like 'Kuro-rin' or 'Kuro-tan'."

I was starting to feel plenty of pity for Kurogane the ninja.

"Oh....ok, I knew I was better off not asking. And Masumi and Mokona?"

"They're both with Kuro-pon. They're talking with the people who are letting us stay here. I came to check up on you three. They should be up here right....now." He pointed over by the door and what do ya know, they walk in.

"Yay!~ Aya is awake!", the little white mokona sang happily as it hopped into my lap.

"Hey there, little Mokona. Nice to meet you too," I patted its head a little. Yeah, I was a big softy for little bunny creatures like this one.

"Teehee. Mokona feels ticklish!~" Mokona jumped out of my lap and onto Kurogane's head. He started yelling at it and called it a manjuu bun.

Everyone awake in the room laughed, including me. Mokona _did_ sort of look like a manjuu bun.

Masumi kneeled down by my side," Have sweet dreams?"

"If you call a puma talking to you a 'sweet' dream, then yes."

"Haha, well at least you're fine. We were all worried when we'd landed in this world since you and Syaoran were unconscious," she pointed at Kurogane and gave a goofy grin,"Especially Kuro-chan!~"

"Oi, I told you not to call me that!"

Masumi let out a fake tear,"You don't think its cute?"

Kurogane frowned,"Of course not, its damn disturbing!"

"Wai!~ Kuro-sama feels disturbed!~", Fai cut in.

"What was that you bastard?!" Ohhh, cutting to the cussing. Like the way you think Kuro-....great now I was doing it.

"Shhh",Fai put his finger to his mouth,"Kuro-papa, you'll wake up the kids."

"Who you calling Papa?!", he grumbled.

It was too late though. I could already see Syaoran shuffling around a bit. Mokona quickly jumped up on Syaoran's face. I could see his eyes fly open.

"Puu!~"

"Sa...kura..."

"Wahhh, you didn't poke Mokona." Mokona started to cry.

Fai picked Mokona up,"Well, hello there. Finally awake."

Syaoran bolted up and looked around,"Sakura!?" He soon noticed he was holding her and calmed down.

Fai smiled assuringly, "Don't worry, I wiped the rain from earlier off her tentatively so she wouldn't catch a cold."

My ear wriggled."Ah? I knew you were a pervert," I mumbled.

"You're off thinking strange things again~" I stayed silent after that.

He spoke to Syaoran again," Anyway, just call me Fai. The little pervert over there is Aya~."

"I'm not a pervert! Just Aya."

"Hehe, over there is Masumi~," Masumi gave a little wave," The black, scary one over there is Kuro-puu~".

"Stop giving me those weird nicknames, its Kurogane! K-U-R-O-G-A-N-E!"

"See? He can spell too!~ And this little one here is Mokona, our guide." He held up the little creature who went, "Puu!~I'm praised!~"

"E-...eh....I'm Syaoran...."

I sighed, "He just woke up, give him some space."

I guess I was ignored because Fai was poking around at the back of Syaoran's coat

"Uwa!?", Syaoran blinked a few times.

"Is this the memory fragments the witch was talking about?" Fai pulled out a white feather with a red design on it. It glowed and reeked of a strong power.

"Th-that's it...", Syaoran stammered.

"It seems to be the only one. It must have gotten stuck to your coat. Pretty lucky, I must say. But its like the witch said, there is no coincidence. You must have caught the feather unconsciously to help that girl."

He was having one of those moments again....but...wait for it...._drumroll please.  
_

"Well, I don't really know!~" Yep, I knew he was going to ruin the moment. I saw Syaoran flip out a little like I would have.

"Syaoran, she looks like she's getting paler. Go ahead, give it to her, the feather."

Syaoran nodded and put the feather in Sakura. She did not wake up, but I had to admit, her skin looked a lot more full.

"She looks...better," Syaoran said in relief. Fai beamed in agreement.

I didn't see the feather earlier when I had looked over at Syaoran when he was sleeping. I must not have noticed...or maybe not.

"So, one feather to go. We'll have to find one in this world, but how?" Fai murmured.

"Oh!~ Mokona knows!" Mokona jumped towards Syaoran,"Just now, there was a strong wave from the feather! If it is close, I'll catch a wave....I know, I'll become like 'this'!" Mokona opened its eyes and went "Mekyo!"

"It will be great! If the feather is close, Mokona will sense it!~"

"Will you tell me when a feather is close by?", Syaoran asked.

Mokona saluted a little," Leave it to me!"

For the first time, I saw Syaoran smile, "...Thank you, Mokona."

Kurogane cut in,"Whether or not you get to search for the feathers is up to you guys. My only purpose on this journey is to get back home, nothing else. So, don't expect me to be helping you."

Syaoran nodded,"That's fine. This is my problem anyway."

Kurogane turned around,"Tch."

Fai laughed, "Ahahaha!~ Quite serious, neh, Syaoran?"

"And you? You're gonna help the brat?" Kurogane said.

"Hurr...me? Well, my only priority is to avoid my world so..." he turned to Syaoran and smiled," I guess I'll help as long as my life isn't in harm's way and plus I'm bored, there's nothing else to do anyway." _T-this guy....he's so..._

"Sooo~ what about Aya and Masumi?" He turned to us.

"I don't really know how I'm supposed to find my wish. I'm guessing searching for these feathers might help me find it. Plus I don't mind helping really," I answered.

"And I don't mind helping either~ I'm feeling pretty bored myself. Its not like I have high priorities or anything." Masumi said with a grin.

"And don't worry about Mokona! Mokona won't move to the next world to we find the feather in this one! And I can sense one in this world!"

Syaoran looked at us all and bowed," Thank you all so much, its not even your-" I cut him off.

"No need to praise us like that. You're going through a tough time. Plus, in a way, it helps us helping you."

He smiled and nodded,"Yes."

I sprawled back onto my futon," So...where are we anyway? I totally forgot, we're supposed to be in another world cause we got so caught up on everything else."

"You're in the Hanshin Republic." I saw a guy with short dark brown hair come in with a pretty woman behind him with long black hair.

"Oh right. Syaoran, Aya. These are the people letting us stay here. Sorata and Arashi. They..er, say that they're letting us stay here since they owe Yuuko," Masumi explained.

Kurogane scoffed at that,"Hmph, that witch will get anyone into her net, huh?"

Sorata scratched his head a little,"Eh, well its not too bad. Even if we didn't owe her, we'd still help you anyway. Oh and another thing before we get rolling," he patted Kurogane on the head,"Don't touch my Arashi."

"EH? Why would I do-?"

Sorata's grip on Kurogane's head tighten,"Neh?~"

"Tch. Whatever. But I don't get why the hell I'm the only one being accused!"

Masumi popped her head from behind Kurogane, "Well you are pretty shady, Kuro-pin~."

"Ack! Where'd you come from?! And stop doing that like the mage! My name is KU-RO-GA-NE!"

Masumi just giggled a little. I even had to smile. It was nice to see her being this open. She never usually teased or talked to many people besides me.

Everyone quieted down when Sorata pulled out this puppet to explain things about the new world we were in. It was kind of funny, since it felt like being in grade school again, we were all sitting on the floor, legs crossed.

"So~ Welcome to Hanshin Republic! A very nice country, its surrounded by sea, sometimes typhoons, but never earthquakes! The economy is superb and we have good relations with other nations! The seasons are 4. We are currently in fall, rice is abundant! Most of our food is made with flour, along with sauce. The laws are the constitution of Hanshin, and we have no wars! Transportation is cars, buses, bicycles, etc., whichever is your preference! The island is shaped like a tiger, so there are many souvenirs with tigers around here on them! Even our baseball team is the tigers! Oh and the currency is Koko. Any questions?"

Fai raised his hand," Yes, I do." _Ha, it really is like grade school now._

"Yes Fai!"

"Where is this room exactly?"

"Ah~! Wonderful question, Fai! This room is apart of the hotel honey and I own! Isn't it nice? She's a great cook too!"He started to sort of go off into his own world, but like all the people in this room...except for maybe Kurogane....they were unpredictable. For example:

"Hey you loafing back there! Pay attention!", Sorata pointed at Kurogane. His head banged forward,

"What the?! Nobody was by me....," he turned to Sorata, "Oi, did you throw something!?

Fai shook his head," No, the angle of shock would have been different. It was from the top."

I shuddered," Then....how....a ghost?"

Sorata stared at us all in disbelief," Huh? I just used my _kudan_, that's all."

"Kudan?" Funny, we all said this in unison.

He slapped his head,"Oh right. You guys wouldn't know since you don't live in this dimension. Everyone in this world is haunted by a kudan."

" It haunts people? Sounds scary."

"Wai~ Aya is scared of something," Fai teased. _Ignore him, Aya....ignore..._

Arashi spoke up,"Even if you are from another dimension, you will also have a kudan as well." She sat down by Sakura.

"This girl's memory fragments could be anywhere in this world, and it could cause much conflict, depending on the amount of power they posses," she looked at all of us," some of you have lost your powers to fight."

"How did you know?", Masumi asked.

"I was once a Miko(sorceress), I have a sixth sense."

"Ha, well I did sort of give the source of my power, yes," Fai answered.

"Tch, that bitchy witch took my sword," Kurogane growled.

"No powers or anything. Look, I only took some karate for a few years, ha...", I revealed, feeling pretty pathetic.

"Grandmother taught me some sword and kendo techniques in the garden, but I have no weapon or magic really", Masumi said. I stared at her flabbergasted. _M-Masumi, what was she teaching you?...I hope none of the flower beds got cut up in the process.  
_

"I did not give up any power, I didn't have any weapons or magic either," Syaoran said.

Arashi smiled," Well, then you are all in luck. Kudan can be used as a weapon."

"For real?"

She nodded," But to understand the use of the Kudan, you must see it with your own eyes."

The Sorata puppet came into view again," So...that's the end of the tour! I hope you enjoy your stay here at the HR!" He took Arashi's hand and started to walk out," We will take care of you guys till you depart, after all we are in Yuuko's debt. Please make yourselves comfortable here. This room can be Sakura's."

"May I stay in this room as well? I want to stay with her." Syaoran asked

"Of course, that's fine," Sorata answered," Oh Aya and Fai, your rooms are across from this one, Masumi and Kurogane will stay in the room next to this one."

"Huh!? Why do I get stuck with this brat!? She's from hell! Hell I tell you!," Kurogane yelled, pointing at Masumi.

Kurogane's ranting was bluntly cut off by the closing of the door.

* * *

"I can't believe I got stuck with _you_ as my roommate," I complained while folding out my futon as far away from the blonde as possible.

"Aw, its not so bad, we're friends, neh?~", he answered placing his coat by the corner of the room.

"I'll think about it after your funeral. And turn a light on your side, will you? It looks so dark, you trying to ruin your vision or something?"

"Hyuu~ Aya-chan is concerned. If you insist, but don't worry about me, I can see perfectly fine." He switched on a lamp.

"I'm not concerned at all, get blind for all I care. G'night." I turned on my side. But the silence quickly cut off.

"What is your world like, Aya?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Just curiosity."

"Oh, well, the way Sorata explained how this country is....its pretty similar. Although there....isn't any spirit that haunts you for life....I believed in some of the supernatural though, in my world. You see, my mother was a dream seer. I am supposed to have inherited that trait. Though, I don't get many interesting dreams often...."

"How is your mother?"

"She....died last year from an illness."

There was silence for a moment, " .....I'm sorry...."

I pulled myself up to my knees. I shook my head," No, its fine. I'm used to it. Speaking of my mother never saddens me. Instead, it makes me proud to talk about her."

"Those are good qualities to have."

"Eh? Well, I guess so. Its not qualities really, I think its just how I am. Its best to just move on," I paused," So um....what about you? N-not that I care or anything...but you're running away from your country, if I remember clearly...did something happen? A war?"

I couldn't see his expression, he was facing the other way,"Its not my country I am running away from. Its a person," he turned to face me again and gave me a huge grin," But its nothing really."

"Its not nothing."

He opened his eyes to reveal the light blue orbs," What?"

"I _said_ it can't just be nothing. It isn't nothing if you went as far away as to flee from your home to another realm."

"I guess so.." He nodded with a small, understanding grin that changed into a_ smug_ grin instead," Wait, Aya-chan wants to hear more?~"

"Eh well-"

"You _really_ wanna know more?~"

I exhaled," Fine. I won't interrogate you anymore about your life, Mr. Secrecy. I don't really care to hear about it. Plus that creepy grin on your face is telling me I'm a lot better off not knowing."

I could have sworn after I said that he mumbled,_"You're right."_ I've gotta clean my ears sometime soon, I've been hearing weird things.

He laughed," Haha, you're so mean!~ This is a slumber party right? Don't you want to play a game?"_  
_

My eye twitched," This is not a slumber party, I don't want to play a game, and stop changing the subject of a conversation so nonchantly like that! It pisses me off. I'm gonna go sleep out where its quiet." I pointed toward the small balcony/porch. A nice addition to the room, when its free.

I picked up my futon and started toward the screen door.

"Aya, isn't it cold? Don't-"

"I'm fine, Fai. Goodnight."

I closed the door and layed out my futon again. The moon was out and the sky was clear, twinkling with glowing stars. This actually wasn't half bad, but...

"F-f-freezing....he's right...its cold. I forgot, S-S-Sorata said it was autumn..." And it wasn't like I was wearing anything warm. Back in Japan, we were currently in spring, and spring over there was really warm. So my outfit was a tang top and shorts. No matter what, though, I would not lose and go back in there...

The slide door slammed open. I felt a hand bump my head gently.

"Idiot, I told you it was cold. Here." He draped his coat on my shoulders.

"Hmph, who you calling an idiot," I felt my head getting hot. Maybe it was the fever,"Anyway, thank you, its warm."

He grinned,"Your welcome. You mind if I join you?"

I slid over reluctantly,"Well...ok, go ahead. But I'm watching you, pervert."

"You're still calling me that?"

"You're calling me Aya-_chan_. I have every right to do so."

"But -chan isn't as bad as getting called a sexual predator."

"Well I don't play fair then."

"Hyuu~so we're playing a game?"

"Its not a game! Ugh, fine you win."

"Win what? You just said it wasn't a game."

"Fine, it was. And you win."

"Haha, Aya-chan can't make up her mind~"

"Yeah whatever, stare at some pretty stars and stuff. I'm gonna get some shut eye."

"They _are_ breathtaking from here, aren't they? The stars I mean."

I put my pillow against the door and leaned on it,"Ngh? Yeah."

"Sometimes I wish someone could take me away and whisk me away to them....the stars."

"Yeah? Go get a rocket or something," I mumbled.

"No, well, even if not to the stars, sometimes I want someone to take me with them somewhere."

"Then that wish already came true."

"How so?"

"Well, you're on journey, ah...I guess not with somebody, but with all of us. We're taking you with us," I said, curling my lip up into a grin.

"Thank...you."

"For what?"

"For my wish."

I smiled and shook my head sleepily,"Don't thank me, it was all inevitability."

He didn't answer after that. Everything was still and soundless, except for the sound of the wind rushing past us and the honking of a few cars in the distance. I felt myself slowly falling into the tranquil of slumber.

* * *

**Ahh~ it feels really good to be finished with this chapter, I thought I'd never have it done. I'm just gonna keep this part at the end short and say: Thanks for reading, wait soon for chapter 5!~**


	5. Pursuit

**Thanks to Yuki Kajiura for her fairly inspiring and beautiful songs. They keep me going!~**

**And of course, thanks to my faithful and wonderful reviewers, Jaku appreciates you all! She is feeling a little on the sick side.  
**

**_(Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa, any of its characters, or CLAMP. I do own Aya Kietsu and Masumi Shimizu)  
_**

* * *

My eyes just sort of opened on their own, no matter how much I had tried to stay asleep. It was one of those mornings when I just wanted the whole world to be paused from its endless cycle. I nuzzled my head a little deeper into my pillow since there was this strange whistling that kept blowing in my ears, I was guessing it was the wind. Hmmm....I noticed the pillow felt oddly warm. Plus it was sort of hard. I poked at the pillow a bit. It started to shift over.....wait pillows don't _shift _over on their own!

That's when I turned around and saw Fai's sleeping face, 3 inches away from mine. Not a pillow. I wish it had been.

_GAAAAAH!_ I mentally screamed. I wanted to squirm away, but I knew I'd have to do it slowly. If he woke up, my life would spiral, I'd lose my pride, Masumi would just laugh, and Fai....he'd never shut up about it, he'd never leave me alone! I didn't want to think about the consequences! I just _thought_ that he would have gone back in. Hmph, lazy pervert.I peered my eyes over at his face. His lips was in a tight line compared to the wide grins he usually wore.

I gently started to push his arm away. Sweat trickled down my cheek.

"Aya?....What are you doing?_" __EEEPPP! _

"Aha...well...you see, it was-"

He grinned,"Getting comfy on me I see."

"What!? No way!" I pushed him towards the edge of the porch," Fall off and never come back up!"

"Neh?~But that would hurt."

"I'm sure it would," I groaned sarcastically.

"So what were you doing in that position? Suspicious~"

"Shut up, you. I have no idea."

"Wahh~why does Aya-chan hate me so?"

"You're extremely irritating most of the time, but I don't hate you."

He narrowed his eyes sideways at the tree behind him," That's good to know." He wasn't smiling right now, his voice had changed a little.

"Huh? What are you staring at? The branches?"

"Hm? Oh nothing. I thought I saw something." He quickly wiped off any sign of worry.

"Alright then...today we're supposed to take a look around this country, maybe possibly find leads to the feather here."

"Sounds good." His voice still sounded distant. I frowned.

"Hey, you....if you were to see someone who looked like the person you're running from....like Yuuko said earlier...."

" It would be hard for me to adjust, but I'd be fine. I'd _definitely_ know the difference between someone who looks like that person and that person himself."

* * *

We were all standing out in front of the hotel. Sorata was handing Syaoran what l believed was....a frog shaped wallet?

"This wallet has money for you guys to buy something if you get hungry."

"Hey, why are you handing it to the kid!?", Kurogane implied

"Because he seems the most trustworthy out of all of you." _Haha, he has a point there._

"Hey, where's Sakura?"Masumi asked

"She's still sleeping. I have the feeling she needs another feather before she'll wake up," Syaoran explained.

"Well c'mon already. Let's go, the quicker we find this feather thing, the faster we'll get to the next world and the less we'll have to intrude on these people and their home. Plus the princess needs the feathers or else she'll die. We can't let that happen."

"Aw, Aya you're so impatient. And how can you say that? You practically freeloaded all the time at my place," I heard Masumi sneer.

"Aya-chan isn't interested in looking at this cool new world?," I heard the mage add in.

"No fun~no fun~!" Mokona hopped around.

"Alright! I get the point! Shut it! But don't you guys care that someone's life is on the line?" I glared at Masumi," And what the hell are you talking about?! You _invited_ me over. That's not freeloading!"

"Aya, calm down. Heheh, and its freeloading in my book once you accept the invitation~"

"Grrr, You little-"

"C'mon, let's not fight here," Syaoran said, coming in between us. He looked at me," But...thank you for the concern of Sakura."

"Its nothing, really. You gotta stop doing that, being so polite. You said it earlier yourself at the shop, that girl must not die. Well you're not going to take those words back." I gave him a pat on the back. Pretty lame, but I felt the kid needed a little encouragement. Despite us only just meeting, it was like having the younger brother I never had already.

I saw his face light up a little. He nodded," Yes."

"Hey! You guys have to get out of here!," this kid with beady eyes started running toward us.

"Who the heck are you?"

"No time to explain! You guys have to go before it starts!"

"What starts?"

"You guys must be foreigners if you don't know what I mean! Hurry, get across the bridge now!"

A chubby guy with funky pink hair and sunglasses was on top of one of the buildings. Behind him was a gang who had similar hairdos and clothing.

"You'll pay for last time, Shogo!" The man yelled.

On the other side was a man floating on a a large blue sting ray. I suspected it was a_ kudan_," We'll see about that."

Suddenly blasts of fire and water were being shot from both directions.

"Oh great! We're too late! Quick, take cover!" the boy yelled.

Well that would've been a great idea if there was _anywhere_ to take cover. Luckily this umbrella of ember covered most of the shots....huh?! Where did the...

In front of Syaoran, a fox of flames stood. It blew a great fiery blast of energy towards one of the gangs. They retreated in terror.

Meanwhile, the leader of the water gang, stood in awe. He introduced himself as 'Shogo' and said he wanted to duel sometime. With that said, they left.

"Geez...well that was really quick and rude, I didn't get what was going on at all....," I mumbled.

The beady eyed kid ran over to us," Are you guys alright?!"

"Eh, well I guess so. Who are _you _beady eyes?", I said.

"Huh!? My eyes aren't that beady....and um I'm Masayoshi Saito."

"What was that fight for that just happened? And the fiery fox...my kudan?" Syaoran asked

"Oh, the guy with the pink hair. He and his gang want more territory that Shogo currently owns...but don't think Shogo is a bad guy! He's trying to keep the city in peace!"

We all introduced ourselves. Him and Syaoran started to discuss more about the kudan levels. Syaoran supposedly had the highest rank kudan you could get. Masayoshi claimed that his kudan was the lowest. The rest was sort of getting fuzzy for me, I couldn't focus. There was something in the air that was not sitting just right.

He invited us all to join him for lunch. No one else obliged, no one...except for me.

"You're not coming? I've never heard you say no to a meal," Masumi felt my head and poked my shoulder," Is this the real Aya? A robot?"

"Yes its me, stop doing that! I...I'm just not feeling good. I'm gonna head back to the hotel, alright? Have fun you guys and thanks anyway, Masayoshi."

I turned around and started walking in the opposite direction._** '**Go back....go back...**'**_ The constant eerie voices chanted in my thoughts._ Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! _I clenched at my hair. _What were they? What did they want? Why didn't they leave me alone?!_ I started to speed walk._  
_

Instead, they continued to taunt me,_**'**The fate...bring her back....bring her back....the one who shall weep once more...bring her back...**'**_If they were talking about me, yeah, I was definitely starting to feel the need to _weep_.

I moved my eyes up from my feet and examined my surroundings. I wasn't on the main drag anymore. Instead, I must have turned by mistake into a narrow side street. To be specific, an alley._ Cliché? I think yes. More and more my life was really turning into an author's dream plot._

Voices murmured, this time not the ones in my head, they were different. The echoes of their whispers trickled down the brick walls of the passageway.

"Who are you?", I called out. I wasn't sure if I was going to get an answer.

Out of the blue, a dark figure jumped swiftly to my side from the top of one of the buildings. His impact created a small crater in the cobblestone. He grabs my waist and my wrist.

"No!", I tried to kick the man, but instead it turned into more of a struggle.

"Zip it you, no matter how much you yell, you won't be heard. You're lucky you're not getting killed...yet," I could almost feel his mouth curl into a smirk.

I gasped a bit for air, he had punched me a bit in the gut," Who...who are you? What do you want with me?" I tried to get a look at his face, but it was covered by a maroon robe.

"You don't know who we are?" Another voice said with an almost arrogant tone. I saw another robed figure strut slowly towards me and my captive.

I spit at the ground," Like hell I don't know and like hell I don't care. What do you freaks want? Looking for an RPG?"

The person grabbed me and lifted my face up. I could see his intense green eyes melting into mine,"Silly little girl, pretending you don't know. Or perhaps you can't remember. Such a pity if you cannot. It would make your suffering all the more enjoyable. Either way, you aren't supposed to be alive. "

"Well this is definitely the first time I remember meeting the likes of you...and I hope its the last, because I prefer living!" A sudden blast of static energy escaped from my hands and into the green eyed man's stomach. It shot him back a couple yards. _Cool._

_**No time for playing around, Aya. Please hurry!**_

_Huh? Inazuma!? Is that you? My kudan?!_

_**Yes, it is I. But there is no time right now for talk!**_

I looked back at green eyes. He was shouting,"Revulz, you idiot! Don't just stand there! She's getting away!"_ I tried to supress a laugh. Heh, so Mr. Thug was Revulz. Sounded like a cutsie kittie name._

My joy quickly faded as I felt a blade slice the top side of my arm all the way down. I tried to kick Revulz, but I tripped on a rock and accidentally stepped heavily on his foot, he was wearing sandals. He cried out in pain. _Karate and my clumsiness....such a great combination. _I stole Revulz's dagger, that was now on the ground, and jabbed it into his foot. That should especially keep him from chasing me.

Revulz started bawling to no end. "You fool, do you know who you're fighting?! Just use your magic!" I heard green eyes say. He was still clutching his abdominal area. His robe was burned and tattered from the electrical shock. _Who's tough now, green eyes?!_

I didn't know what they were talking about, but I wasn't going to waste anymore time. I found the energy to make a dash for the end of the alley that I had come from. I turned the corner, everything around me was spinning. _**'**The people...the memories...the people....the memories...remember...the power....the angst....**'**_ The voices chanted once more. Not at the right time either.

The pain from my arm stung. Blood was probably flowing like a waterfall from it, but I didn't look. My gut felt like it was swelling to the size of Tokyo Tower. I started coughing. My saliva was a red color. More blood. Great.

I took one quick glance to make sure they weren't following me. No one to my relief. When I turned back again, I bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry...I..."

"Aya? Who did this to you?", Fai...it sounded like the mage...I couldn't tell, my vision was blurring.

"What are you...." before I could finish...everything slowly vanished.

* * *

**This chapter is definitely...bizzare. Introduction of new, mysterious people. I found this chapter to be a little bi-polar. Starting out pretty normal and slowly working its way to this psychotic twist. Take to it how you see it. 'o.o The part meeting Masayoshi to me was a bit bland.  
**

**I noticed last chapter I sort of mixed up Arashi and Sorata, I fixed that . I just sometimes feel like Arashi should be a male name sometimes. I didn't think it was my best work that chapter(I loved chp 3.), probably one of the most boring scenes in the series is when they arrive in Hanshin, but it was hard to change because it was important.**


	6. Questions

**I'm really surprised by how much my story is liked now '^^ It made me feel a little proud about this chapter.**

**Anyway:**

**_Disclaimer:I still don't own Tsubasa, CLAMP, or its characters._  
**

* * *

I opened my eyes to find myself laying in a wooden chair, amidst plenty of music and laughter. I pulled my arms up and my hands over to cover my ears. Noticing the bandages on my right arm, I couldn't help but wince. I'd almost forgotten about the little incident back then and I wish I had. I wondered how the rest of me looked. I could already make out some sore spots, probably bruises, on my face.

"Um...Aya, are you alright?", I glanced over, it was the princess.

"Y-you're awake...um, yes I'm fine," I replied groggily.

She smiled softly," Syaoran returned the feather to me from the last world. I can't remember much still, but it feels nice to not be sleeping all the time."

"Ah....that's good...WAIT! _LAST WORLD!?_ I thought we were still in Hanshin!", I shot straight up, a finger poked my head down again.

"Who did that!?," I rubbed my scalp and turned around in my chair," Oh, its _you._" Fai was now leaning on my chair. Grinning, as usual.

"Surprised? You've been asleep for at least 3-4 days. We collected the feather in Hanshin during that time."

"3-4 days!?" I felt a little peeved that I never got to thank Inazuma for saving me back then.

"Hey Sakura, you wanna play?~ You can win moolah!~", Mokona jumped onto Sakura's head.

"W-what's 'moolah'?," the princess said puzzled.

"Its slang for 'money' in Aya and Masumi's world! C'mon! There's some game over there! Its fun!~"_ Mokona....I think the word you're looking for is 'gambling' not 'some game'. _

"Um, Alright," Sakura nodded and walked out of her seat.

I fixed my eyes on the rest of the room. We were in some sort of restaurant, it was sorta dimly lit. Everyone seemed to be wearing European style clothing from the late 1700's or early 1800's. Kurogane was chomping down a steak next to Masumi who seemed to be cutting out paper people._ I had no idea where she got the scissors and the paper..._Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona were off by the 'game' table. I saw a couple keep giving me strange looks from their table. I knew it, my face probably looked like a battered up prune.

"We all stick out like a sore thumb," I sighed.

"When we get some new clothes we won't." _  
_

"I guess...."

I felt his hand grab my shoulder, he whispered by my ear," Never mind it. You still have yet to tell me who did _that_ to you." He pointed at my arm.

I shrugged his hand off," Nothing happened. I uh, just ran into a guy a bicycle back then, that's all."

"You're a terrible liar."

"I'm...I'm not lying."

"You are. You're stuttering. Tell me."

"I don't want to."

"You're only making matters worse for yourself not speaking about it. Tell me."

I crossed my arms, "Arrgh, alright already, just zip it for once and stop that! Sheesh, so persistent...When I split up from you guys, I guess I accidentally took a shortcut and ended up on this small side street."

"Accidentally?"

"What? I just wasn't paying attention to where I was going that's all." _I felt to embarrassed to say it was because of some strange voices in my mind, he'd think I was crazy. Not that we all weren't_

"You should be a bit more careful....anyway, what else happened?"

"Well this guy in a cloak attacked me and his buddy was telling me strange things. That I was supposed to be dead and that I should know who they were...but I don't know who the heck they were. Anyway, I used my kudan to get away."

"That's it?"

"Yep. I don't know what their motive was.....oh yeah! The one dude, yeah, he was yelling to the buff guy, Revulz, to use magic when I was escaping! Weird huh? I didn't know Hanshin had people with magic...

He shook his head,"There isn't magic there. That means they are from another world. Strange....I would have sensed the magic, they must have been suppressing it. You believe they are coming back?"

"Maybe. If they are, its definitely gonna be more forceful. I just don't know what they want..."

Everything sort of paused for a moment, but he went right to talking again.

"And then Aya-chan came to me!~With open arms!"_  
_

" No! I bumped into you! Wait...ewwww, you didn't carry me back, did you?"

"Naturally."

"Aw man...I've gotta wash this shirt again."

* * *

Princess Sakura had ended up winning all the money at the gambling table. Angry gamblers had mobbed our group out of the restaurant, unable to grasp the fact that they had all lost to a girl who didn't even know how to play.

The money had been enough to buy us new, warm clothes at a small shop, so we wouldn't stick out as much. Plus, Masumi and I would catch hypothermia in our outfits from home. It seemed it was winter in this country. Snow covered a lot of the buildings and trees. I was not very fond of cold weather, but I had always enjoyed a nice snowfall. I had checked in the mirror, my face was still the same old pigment, no bruises to my relief. I tugged at my blue dress. Masumi had suggested it since it went well with my brown hair. _Simple, but nice. I liked it._ I hated flashy clothes.

We had trudged, by foot, to the next town over. The bartender from the restaurant had told Syaoran about a legend of this Princess who took children from that town. Syaoran believed it could be a lead to the feather in this world. Everyone settled with this idea. I didn't buy the legend though. I had a hunch that the thing with the princess was a simple misunderstanding. Legends were always told and passed on from person to person. They could always be changed or told differently.

I could read the sign. It said 'Welcome to the village of Spirit!' I didn't feel very welcomed.

The main street, which you'd expect, even in the winter, to be filled with some people, was desolate and empty. The windows looked boarded up and I even noticed some doors on houses had double locks.

"Its like a ghost town...", I commented

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Suddenly a little girl popped up in front of us. She stared at us curiously.

"Huh? Aww, hello there. Do you live in this village? Could you help us?", I smiled and knelt down by the girl. She looked at her shoes timidly.

"Mary, get away from there! Get back here!", I heard a woman's voice shriek. The girl ran into a crowd of people that quickly surrounded us.

"Who are you people? Why are you in our town? You should leave!," one man yelled.

"Yeah, you guys seem pretty suspicious," a lady grumbled.

"I am writing a book on myths and legends. I heard there is a legend for this town, I wanted to write and research it."

"Oh yeah? Then why d'ya got people with you when you're the one writin' the book?",an old man interrogated.

Fai cut in," Ahaha~! My little brother hates traveling alone, so he asked us to come along. This one here," he pointed at Kurogane," is my older brother", he pointed at Masumi," my cousin", he patted Sakura's head,"my cousin's friend!~"I stood behind him while he said this. Maybe if I stayed hidden...

"An' what about the one in the back o' ya? Yar wife?"_ Hahaha_..._wife, he's funny....haha.....WHAT!?_

"What?! Haha~No, but we might. I haven't proposed yet. She's my girlfriend," he pulled me over into a tight and totally fake hug. I wanted to push Fai away, choke the guy with the accent, and then come back and choke Fai, but if I blew the act, it was all over. I pretended to look very happy.

"What's wrong with you people?! They just arrive, these travelers, and this is how you treat them?" A man with black hair tied in a ponytail and glasses pushed through the crowd.

"Ya know the story, Dr. Kyle. The children keep disappearin'. We have every right to be suspicious."

"That does not give you the right to pick on people who have know idea what you're talking about. Please, follow me, I'm sorry about the welcome party." He motioned for us to follow him to a house on the corner.

* * *

"I see, so you're very aware of what has been going on in this town," he remarked.

"Yes, I was interested in adding these occurrences to my book," Syaoran said.

"Very well then, you are allowed to stay at my place as long as you like."

"R-really?", I stuttered.

"Of course. Take it as a token of apology for the rudeness earlier. Plus, I don't get much visitors as it is. It feels nice to have company."

"But..."

He smiled,"Don't worry, I feel very responsible of the people here, even though I am not mayor....anyway, I hope you find what you've been meaning to write about. Before I head in, I'll show you to your rooms.

Kurogane and Syaoran ended up together in a room.

He looked at Fai and I," I suppose you two want a room together." I shot dagger glares in Fai's direction.

"Oh no, my cousin and her friend really wanted Aya to stay with them. You won't miss me, right my sweet?" His shoulder nuzzled mine playfully. He was clearly teasing me with this act.

"Oh no~ Fai, I'll miss you, but I will be fine." I struggled to spit the words out in a sweet tone. It was so....so....wrong and evil.

He gave me another burning hug from hell and left to go with Syaoran and Kurogane.

"So~having fun, Aya?" A finger poked at my side as I walked into the dark room.

"M-Masumi! D-don't do that!," I gasped for air.

"Having fun with your boy~friend?"

" H-he is not my boyfriend! He is doing that to piss me off!"

"Then why are you blushing? And shhh~the princess is sleeping." She pointed over at the sleeping figure on the bed opposite of mine.

"Oh, sorry....and I am not blushing! I would never blush for an idiot like that! Never!"

"Haha, okay, okay, calm down. What were you talking about earlier though?"

"What do you mean?"

"In the restaurant, you looked nervous when you were talking to him. What was it?"

"Have you ever heard the name _Revulz_?"

Her face get a little pale and sweaty,"Hm, that's a strange name. Nope, never. Why?"

"Oh, I dunno. You see, I walked down this alleyway as a shortcut in Hanshin and these two guys attacked me. They were both wearing robes. That's how I got injured" I held up my beat up arm.

Okay, I could tell her face had just lost all its life," What color were the robes?"

"I think they were maroon....."

"What else?"she asked nervously.

I continued to tell her about what they said, the little glimpses I got of their faces, my escape. She listened intently to all of it. In truth, I hadn't wanted to tell anyone about what happened. In the case they were to come back, I didn't want my friends involved...but I couldn't keep something like this from Masumi and...the damn mage was so annoying that I spit it out!

"Soooo...yeah, that's it. Hey Masumi, is something wrong? You've been looking kinda pale and sick."

"Its nothing. We'd better keep some level of caution during the rest of the journey...Aya, I'm...going to go to bed."

"Alright, G'night.....Oh Masumi, I had a question!"

"Yes?," she turned around.

"I know this really isn't my buisness, but...you're wish?"

She smiled," I would tell you if I could, Aya. But you wouldn't remember anyway."

* * *

**NOTICE: I won't be doing every single world they land in, but I'll be doing practically all of them. This chapter started out in Jade Country, I decided to skip Koryo Country and make it that they never landed there, sorry to those people who loved that world in the manga, I wanted to use it so bad, but I decided that its one or the other. The lake country I might possibly do as a little fuzz chap. Anyway, I put this little note here for people that might have gotten a bit confused, cause I'm a real master at confusion -__-**


	7. Unexpected

It was one of those nights where I just couldn't sleep no matter how many chocolate bars I tried to count jumping over a fence. The thing was, I was starving and we had rushed out of the restaurant so quickly that I didn't even get a nibble. Plus, I hadn't wanted to intrude into the Doctor's pantry before but...

"Maybe I'll sneak a snack. A little something won't hurt, right?", I mumbled to reassure myself. I felt like I was one of those pregnant ladies with the unexpected food cravings. Oh well...the most important thing was to not wake anyone up, especially Fai or Masumi. Oh god, I didn't even wanna think about it.

As I slipped through the door, thinking about these things reminded me....I had a conversation with Masumi earlier in the night. She had been acting really strange and saying things that just weren't like her normal self. I wondered if maybe she just wasn't feeling so good, like a fever or something.

_"So...where does a doc keep his stash?"_, I thought to myself, tip-toeing down the steps. As I reached the bottom, I checked the room closest to the stairs. It looked like...an examination room. There was a a chair in the corner and a desk with a couple of drawers. I peeked inside them and surprisingly, I found no equipment. Instead, the only thing I found was a book, but I couldn't read this country's language very well, it was close to German. It read Induzieren, whatever that meant. I hadn't focused much in my German language classes in 9th grade. _"Strange doctor though...not having tools to use to check up on patients,"_ I commented.

An odd light started to brighten from outside. I went closer by the window, holding my breath.

An elegant girl with long wavy blonde hair and a lace dress. Her body glowed and she was transparent. I didn't know if the girl could see me, but she looked over in the direction of the house, wearing a face of grief. A little girl was right beside her. Red hair...wait a sec, that was the girl that had bumped into me today, Mary!

It had to be the rumored princess from the legend, I had no doubt. There was no time, I had to get out there or else that girl would disappear!

I started to walk fast and quietly towards the back door, when suddenly I heard the gentle footsteps of someone coming down the steps. I froze in my tracks, hoping to be unseen in the darkness.

"A-Aya?"a voice peeped," Are you there..?"

"S-Sakura?," I exhaled with relief and walked out by the steps to see her in full view," Oh phew...What are you doing down here?"

"I saw someone outside. I was worried and plus, I noticed you weren't in your bed," she admitted," But why were you down here, Aya?"

I blushed," Eha, well, you see...never mind. Um...wait you saw it too!?"

"Yes."

"So I wasn't hallucinating! C'mon!" I grabbed her arm," We have to follow that princess!"

I pulled her along out the back door and towards the forest to the north end of the town. I could now see the faint glow of the Princess Emaurade's spirit in the distance of the trees. I motioned for Sakura to run faster. In no time, we ended at a river. Across the river, there was a bridge, broken in half. On the other side, there was an eerie, eroded stone castle. The Princess and the little girl, Mary, had vanished.

"I wonder where those two went..."

"Shouldn't we get Syaoran and the others?", Sakura huffed, kneeling down beside a tree.

"This is a rare opportunity to find the secret behind the legend. Plus, I feel like I haven't done much. I want to make some sort of impact on this journey. Plus, if I just sit around and do nothing, I'll find out nothing, I'll see nothing, I'll feel nothing."

She nodded knowingly," In a way, I can understand how you are feeling. Sometimes, I feel so weak that I can't do much to help Syaoran. He works so hard to get my feathers and I don't even know why. Its not like I know him well. Unless, maybe I do know him. I just don't have those memories of him yet...."

I stared solemnly at the cold snow on the ground.

"But, maybe I will get them sometime soon I hope! That is, if I knew him before I lost my memories," She beamed.

I attempted to fake a smile and patted her shoulder. I knew for a fact that those memories wouldn't return. Even if she tried to remember. I had a feeling Sakura had loved Syaoran before her memories had vanished. I wasn't sure why, I guess it was just the look in Syaoran's eyes every time he stared at the princess.

"I hope that you get those memories back soon too, Sakura."

She smiled jovially," T-Thank you so much, Aya," she put her hand to her mouth and flushed," I...I didn't expect to talk that much!"

"Hahaha, its ok. My mother used to always tell me this_:One must not keep their feelings in the bottle too long or the bottle will shatter._"

"Used to?"

"She died a year ago. Don't let it get to your head though, it doesn't bother me anymore," I poked her forehead," C'mon we better get moving. Its freezing. My butt is getting hypothermia here."

She laughed as she got up,"Sure."

"Soooo~Anyway, what are we supposed to do now....hello?...Sakura?!", I turned to look at her. Her eyes seemed sort of glazed over.

"I...have to go there....", she stated, pointing at the castle in a zombie-like trance.

"Uh yeah, I know. I'm trying to figure out how. Just be patient. What's with you? Are you okay?", I put my hand in front of her, but her eyes didn't daze a bit at all.

"The....feather..." Huh!? She could sense the feather?! I frowned. So Syaoran was right, the feather had something to do with the legend!

!!!!

She started pulling along towards the dark, icy water.

"Hey! Whoa! Don't go there! When I said figure out a way, I didn't mean that way! C'mon, we're going back!" I started dragging towards the direction of town, following our footsteps from earlier....wait those footsteps were to large to be ours. And they were fresh too.

"Someone's out here..." I muttered. I suddenly heard a rustling behind the bushes before me.

"W-who's there?!" I squeaked," I'm warning you!..." I should have brought a weapon.

Before I had a chance to react, I felt a heavy object hit the back of my head. Everything was spiraling.

_Nooo..._

The whole world turned black.

* * *

**This chapter was indeed short, I admit. I plan to make next chapter longer. And the surprise for next chapter?: It won't be in Aya's POV! Since Aya got attacked. Who's POV will it be? Hm, I'm not sure yet, I'm trying to decide who. :D **

**I found Aya getting up in the middle of the night for a snack a bit amusing, I'm not sure why. Her character seems like the type of person who loves eating.  
**

**(I've noticed that I have had Aya getting attacked a lot. Sorry Aya '^^ I just need you in the action.)**

**I'm not sure why I thought Jade Country would be good with a language similar to German. I think it was because I looked at old photos from my parents' vacation in Germany and the towns just sorta reminded me of Jade.**

**Note: The word Induzieren means 'induce' or 'hypnotize' in German. but Aya doesn't know, so nobody knows. *wink wink*  
**


	8. Resentment

** The POV of this chapter will be*drumroll* Masumi!~ So it will be told from her perspective and all!~Yay!  
**

* * *

_Masumi's POV_

"Yawnnnn~" I stretched out across my bed. It had been a while since I had a good sleep. This journey made it hard to get some decent rest. I looked around the room. It seemed Aya and Sakura had already woken up. I frowned. They hadn't even taken the courtesy of making their beds. I didn't know about Sakura, but I was especially disappointed in Aya....after all the times I'd tried to teach her how to correctly fold her sheets back home....

It surprised me, though. Those two were the biggest sleepers out of the six of us(well, seven including Mokona). And I usually woke up the earliest. I grinned. Maybe the doc was having an all-you-can-eat buffet downstairs. Aya could smell food a mile away.

**Aya**....my eyes narrowed as I thought back to the night before.

_"What do you mean I won't remember even if you tell me? You're not going to tell me your wish at Yuuko's shop?"  
_

_"It's nothing to concern yourself over. Really," I waved my hand and started turning towards my bed again.  
_

_"If it has something to do with you, it **is** my concern, idiot."_

_"......"_

_"I'm you're friend, aren't I?"_

_"Don't misunderstand-"_

_"Never mind. You know what, you're right. Its none of my concern. I know I'm not gonna get an answer anyway."  
_

_"Aya..."_

_"Its okay," she grinned and stuck her tongue out," I'm joking!~ Its payback for at your Grandma's place. I loved seeing you so serious, sheesh, its a rarity."_

_My jaw hanged open," W-what?"_

_"Haha, I **said** I was joking. Well...what I mean is, its fine. You don't need to force yourself to tell me anything if it bothers you. That wouldn't make me a good friend. Although, I wish you would tell me what troubles you sometimes. Its not good to keep it to yourself, Masumi."_

_I nodded and turned my head a to the side, a tear trickled down my cheek," Thank you..." She hadn't changed, she was still like that **time****. **Her strange way of showing kindness never failed to touch me with full force._

_"To tag along with you on this destined journey ;to protect you as much as I can, my friend...from whatever dangers fate will guide the six of us to; that was my wish...," I whispered. I smiled and glanced over at her to notice she was already snoring. She hadn't heard anything.  
_

I looked back up at the room, bringing myself back to the present. My lips clenched into a tight line. The 'cloaked people' she had mentioned who attacked her in Hanshin. I hadn't expected them to come so soon. I had been trying to avoid the **certain world**, of course, with Mokona, it was still always a 50/50 chance where we would land. But... they were coming from somewhere else. Plus, if they wore robes that color, this was not good. And that name, I recognized it all too well. _Revulz._ And the other man, I knew it had to be Kamen. It confirmed that they were definitely the-

There was a knocking at the door.

"You can come in." I watched as Kurogane walked in. Mokona, Syaoran, and Fai not lagging too far behind.

"Good morning Fai, Syaoran, Mokona...Kuro-cousin!~", I sang. It was pretty fun to joke with him. I'd never joked so much on someone besides Aya nor had I met someone with a temper that was worse than her's.

"Will you shut up, you damn girl! Its KU-RO-GA-NE! And I'm NOT YOUR COUSIN!", he growled.

"Aw, c'mon now, Kuro-pin, we're all a big family now. Don't yell at your cousin so harshly~," Fai intervened.

"Hey where's Sakura and Aya?", asked Syaoran.

My eyes widened in shock," I thought they were with you guys...."

We all quickly plummeted down the stairs to find that the back door was swinging wide open.

"The two brats must have left through here," Kurogane grumbled.

"But there are no footprints," Mokona said.

"Yes, but it snowed last night, remember? Any markings in the snow would have been covered up immediately."

"Do you suppose they were kidnapped?" Fai added in.

Syaoran shook his head," If that was true, things would have been wrecked. But everything is clean and unbroken. They left on their own." I could tell Syoaran was doing his best to remain calm. I could notice his palm quivering.

"My dear daughter! She's vanished!", we soon heard a women shreiking.

"Did you keep the door locked, M'am?" a man answered.

"Yes, I kept it locked from the inside. I even put on another lock, just in case!"

"It has to be the legend! The Princess!" we soon heard people from the town yelling it in peril.

"Hey look! Its the travelers!" a man pointed at us.

"Two o' em travelers are missin'!"

"Those two probably took the children! Let's get 'em!" The started running towards us. The doctor ran in front of us and spread his arms out.

"Wait! These people are innocent! They have done nothing! My room is right by the entrance! I would have known!"

"Oh yeah, Doctor? Well two o' em are missin'! Look!"

"Huh?!", the doctor turned around and looked at us," Where are Sakura and Aya?!"

"We don't know. All we know for now is they left out the back door, not the front," Syaoran explained.

The doctor's eyebrows furrowed.

I placed my hand on Syaoran's shoulder," Sakura and Aya will be alright. Aya has a strong will, Sakura too. I'm sure if they are in danger, they'll find a way. We don't have much leads to their whereabouts and," I looked around at the people walking around town," if we move too freely, we will make ourselves too suspicious to the villagers. We can't afford to have any problems." I, to all honesty, said that to also reassure myself. If anything happened to Aya....

Syaoran nodded," Yes."

"I think the two of them left because they saw the culprit who's been taking these children. Well...I think that could be the only reason," Kurogane suggested.

"The princess of the legend then?" I said.

"Maybe. Or, its someone who is trying to use the legend as a cover up for themselves," Fai stated. A rare, serious glint in his eyes.

We had started out at the mayor's house, who had given us a book on the history of Princess Emaurade and the town of Spirit. The book in the story pretty much matched the one the bartender had told. Syaoran said that there was a chance the book was all wrong. Not everything in books was true. I couldn't agree more.

The book had also shown us a map to the castle of the princess which was not so far from the town in a north direction. In fact, it was less than a mile.

As we stood in the snowy street, I looked up at the window of the inn where a child was laying in bed. The doctor stayed beside the bed.

"He's a great doc! He even plays with the kids!" A bystander commented.

"Huh? Oh yeah..." I agreed. I frowned as I turned back to the window. Something wasn't right. When the doctor left, the child climbed out of the bed and pointed at the sky through the open window.

"Blackbirds..." the child said. I looked at the sky. I saw the others do the same.

"That's weird, I see no blackbirds," Syaoran said.

"Pfft. The brat has birds on the brain, that's all," Kurogane grunted.

"Aw, Kuro-chan is such a grouch," I patted his head.

"Oi, who gave you permission to touch my head!?"

Mokona popped from under his shirt," Puu!~ Kuro-rin is being a grouch because he is worried! Mokona can tell!~ That's one of her super 108 skills!~"

"Hey! What the hell were you doing in there!? And I'm not worried!!" Kurogane yelled. Mokona jumped into Fai's hands.

"108 skills? What about the other 107?", Fai asked.

"Its~a~secret!~" Mokona whispered.

"Haha!~", Fai gave Mokona a hug," Mokona you're such a tease!~"

I glanced over at Kurogane with a smirk,"Hmmm?~You're worried, ne?"

"Hmph. Whatever," he crossed his arms and turned the other way.

I sighed with a grin," Trying to play the tough guy, huh? They say that it is sometimes courageous to show your true emotions."

"And what about you?"

"Hm?~ What about me?"

"You're hiding something."

My smile faltered for a second,"And what of it?"

"Nothing. I could care less, I don't want to be involved. Same with the mage. I don't care about his sob story that he's hiding."

"...That's a good decision....Kuro-rin..." Its best if people stayed out of the past..._my past._

I glanced over at Fai, who was now staring out into the trees with Mokona on his head. I was surprised the ninja had caught on. Fai was a pretty good liar, but I could read a person easily.

I suddenly saw Fai pointing, "Hey, isn't that Mr. Glosam?"

I turned my head around to see the man dripping wet. He was supposedly the owner of most of the property and land in the village. It was not snowing or raining...

I looked over Syaoran's shoulder to look at the map of the area. The closest river was the one next to the castle of the princess.

"Hmmm....", Syaoran mumbled," I think I have this wrapped up. Tonight, we're going to the castle. Here's the plan."

* * *

*******Masumi is keeping secrets about her past! And it has something to do with Aya as well!*gasps* What could this mean? What happened?! the truth has yet to be revealed!*******

**I almost forgot to say this! Since I forgot last chp too! That I am really thankful to the hits and favorites and reviews and such, it means a lot to me! T~T The motivation and all.  
**

**I'm super hyper and happy this week! I think its because the weather has gotten much warmer, I really do love it! I've been tiring of the snowy and cold weather.**


	9. Close Call

_(Back to Aya's POV)  
_

I found myself standing in the midst of my backyard. The one that I had grown up with. The one from before I had been living in that cooped apartment. The place I had lived with-

"Eh!? Mother!?" I yelled in astonishment.

I saw her sitting on a large rock by the stream that I remembered used to flow through the small garden. I stepped over towards her.

She answered,_" Yes, it is I."_She was wearing a red kimono with black flowers on it. She didn't seem as translucent either as she had been in the dark void earlier. Her wavy black hair shimmered.

"Yeah, but what are you doing here....? Why are we in our old backyard?"

She smiled playfully,_" This is a dream, Aya. I promised I would see you again, did I not?"_

"Like hell you did, you said **maybe**! That's not a promise!"

_"Haha~same anger issues as always. Although, now that you've reached the height of those adolescent years, that might change. You're practically an adult now. My, how time flies..."_

"Its...good to see you, mother."

She stared downwards with unreadable eyes,_"I've missed you too, dear. But I wanted to visit you to see how you have been faring with your journey,"_ her lip curled up,_" Any boyfriends?~Hmmm~?"_

"Are you kidding me?!"

_"Neh? Aren't you with Fai-kun~?"_

" He was just doing that boyfriend thing to cause my misery, don't remind me! ah...wait, how do you know that retard?!"

_"It's~a~secret~!" _she teased_.  
_

"What kind of secret is that!?"

_" Teehee~I'll avoid that question!~"_

"What!? Don't ignore me!"

She closed her eyes and didn't say anything for a moment_.  
_

I blinked, "...Are you okay?..."

She opened her eyes again and looked at me,_" Its....nothing..."_

"Mom?..."

_"...Its alright for you not to fully understand the things you have faced or will be facing. You've been thrown into the midst of something beyond anything you would have imagined back in Japan. Traveling through different realms, facing new and unknown dangers...it is quite a lot to take in."_

"Yes..."

_"And you payed Yuuko's price."_

"You know Yuuko?!" She seemed to know everyone I was forced to be involved with. And the worst of it all, the most **troublesome **ones...

She grinned a little,_" Let's just say Yuuko and I were very good friends. Back to the point...there couldn't have been any other way for you to go to another world without her help."_

I turned my head to the side," I've lost my memories of father. That was my price to travel dimensions. I wasn't entirely sure in the beginning what exactly was my purpose in this all, I mean, everyone is very kind to me, the people I'm traveling with, and I have Masumi...but..."

_"But what?"_

"I'm...well sometimes I feel like I don't know who I am anymore..."

_"That isn't an alien emotion then. There are times when we all feel like that. That feeling will go away. But I don't know if the transition from it will be a good feeling or a bad feeling for you...," _her eyes gazed into mine_. _They looked almost teary_,"I know you can't and won't remember your father, but he would have been so proud to see you right now..."  
_

She looked up at the setting sky_,"...I'm sorry, Aya, I don't like doing this, but there are still boundaries that hold me back to the spirit world. I've spent much too long here, I have to go. You too. You are needed back in your world, whichever one you are in. Now....please wake up...."_

My eyes fluttered open. I scowled. I hated how our conversations in the dreams always seemed to end with her saying riddles...because I hated solving them. What the heck did she mean by transitioning?!

As I stood up, I shivered. The room was cold, and the floor I had been laying against had been hard and unforgiving. I was starting to remember now...I had been hit on the head with something hard. The assaulter must have brought me here.

"Damn it...I was careless..." I hated being screwed with. Plus, I was starting to have a strong dislike for how much I'd been sleeping these days. It wasn't normal.

I checked my surroundings. A crappy, splintered wood ceiling, the floor was cement and dusty, the walls were stone and had many cracks and crevices. There was a shackle attached to my bare ankle, but whoever put it on was a bakahead because the hinges on the chain that held it to the wall had already rusted so much that I easily tugged it and it disconnected. I got up and walked towards the door, which for a strange reason, was already open. That's when I wondered...

"The princess is...I hope she's alright...", I mumbled. As soon as I walked out the door...

"Aya!!!!" Sakura grabbed my arm and continued running. In her left hand she was holding some sort of large crystal. It had her memory feather inside it. There were children following behind her. The children of the village!

"S-Sakura?! You scared me! Phew, well at least you're okay! That's your feather! What's going on? The children-"

"Ehhh, long story! We have to get the children out of here and back to the village! Gah!-" She tripped on one of the cobblestones.

"Sakura!" I picked up the crystal with her feather and bent down to help her up. Just then, I saw Doctor Kyle running towards us.

"Doctor?!"

"Aya! Sakura! I came to find you guys! Here, let me help Sakura up, it must hurt running barefooted like that."

She held her hand back,"...How do you know I'm barefooted?...."

He sneered," You're clever. Like that boy...come now, Aya. Hand me that thing you're holding, it must be heavy, right?"

I clutched the feather close to me," No."

"Sakura, Aya!" I saw Syaoran running towards the Doctor and us. Masumi, Fai, and Kurogane right behind him.

Th doctor now had me cornered. I motioned my head over in their direction, implying Sakura to go to them. She looked back at me reluctantly, but nodded and ran over to Syaoran.

"You little brats...." he growled. I could have sworn I heard Kurogane mumbling somewhere in the background 'That's my line.'

"...Oh well, I don't need that girl or you, I want that feather. Hand it over, please."

"I will not."

"Very well then," he pulled out a knife," I'll just have to make you!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears were flowing out of them._ Goodbye world...I mean **worlds**._

"Stop! Move out of the way!" I heard a familiar voice shout as they grabbed me just before the doctor's knife sliced through me.

I opened my eyes, tears were still streaming down my face.

"...Masumi?....Masumi!! You're bleeding!" I noticed some blood gushing out from her right shoulder.

"Its....fine...this isn't...that bad...won't die", she gasped and even tried to smile a little.

I gripped the top part of her dress," Masumi....you...stupid...don't do that...ever **again**_._"

"Don't....do what....?...Save your life? We're friends...right....?" she said with a light grin and lost consciousness.

I clenched my fist, "...Don't you force yourself to smile for my sake either when you're in pain, fool....owwww...." I felt my bandaged arm from Hanshin, the blood had been starting to seep through the cloth from when we had crashed against the floor.

**CRACK**!

Water started to blast out from one of the walls.

"The lever that held the water back broke! We have to get out! Get the children out!" Syaoran yelled. _Whatever **that** meant, but it sounded okay with me._

I started to push Masumi slowly up against my shoulder. I held in a yelp. My right arm was not cut out for any more of this. Kurogane came beside me.

"Here let me help you. Hand me over that idiot," he was carrying 2 kids already.

"But Kurogane...."

"Its an insult to my strength as a ninja, saying he can't carry 2 kids and a clown. And you can't carry her with your condition right now," he pulled her on his shoulder, "Plus, when she wakes up, I want to be around to give her a good punch in the head."

Mokona popped out of nowhere,"Geez, Kuro-pipi is such a violent person! Mokona will knock some sense into his head too!~ Pow Pow!~" Mokona danced on his head.

"Damn it Manjuu-bun, not now!"

I smiled," Thank you, Kurogane."

"Tch. Whatever."

"Let's get moving, my darling!~ Don't wanna drown!", I felt myself get scooped up.

"What the hell!? Who the..." That's when I looked up to see the blue eyes," Oh...its just _you_, mage. Hmph. And stop calling me darling and stuff, would you cut it with the shitty boyfriend act!?"

"Aw, whats with the gloomy expression?" a fake tear was out of one eye.

"For your information, I can walk just fine."

"Phew, yeah, I'm struggling here!~" He acted like he was limping as he ran.

"Then put me down, weakling!...wait I'm not fat!"

"Never said you were~ heheh~!"

"God, I hate this world! Its too cold and annoying and unpredictable! And you're not making it any better!" I pointed my finger at his face.

"Hey whoa, stop shuffling and ranting about, it makes it hard to run," he whimpered.

"Ehhhh?! Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Just don't move around so much...that arm of yours....I'll bandage it when we get back," he patted my head.

"....thank you...Hey! Don't pat my head like I'm some dog!"

"A hug then?~"

"In your perverse dreams, sicko."

"How do you know what I dream about?"

"I don't! There's probably nothing in that shell you call a brain to process a dream anyway!"

"You're right...I don't have dreams...at least, not the good kind...," he muttered.

* * *

At the last second, we had reached it to the other side of the frigid river, when the castle had collapsed to nothing but a pile of rocks and debris.

"Hey, where's the doctor!?" A villager man asked.

I gazed over at the heap of stone on the other side," He had the same fate as the castle....and blondie! You can put me down already!!"

"Okay!~" Fai dropped me into the snow.

"At least give me a better spot to land!"

"You didn't specify~"

"You evil little-"

_"Thank you...for saving the children," _I turned around to see the Princess Emauraude.

"Of course," Sakura said. I simply nodded.

_"I finally...feel at peace...here, you may have this," _she broke the ice around the feather and placed it into Sakura,_ " goodbye, please be careful on the rest of your trip, someone has been spying on you....," _and with that said, she vanished.

"Bye....wait...spying on us....?" Sakura and I both mumbled in unison. We looked around.

"Who are you two talking to?" Kurogane asked.

* * *

**_In the distance of the trees...._**

"The doctor has failed," the man said as he spoke into a communication device.

"Ah, I know. But never mind it, just a slight miscalculation. The power to control time and space will be mine indeed....and after all, I still have my _pawns_.

* * *

**Wooo!~ End of Chp 9! Thank you for all reviews, so many from last chp! I have 600+ something hits now , it means a lot! Plz, if you read and you like, I'd love getting more reviews! I like hearing ideas and comments that keep me writing '^^ I want to make chp 10 something really special!**


	10. Dubious

"WAAAAHHHH!" I screamed as I was falling from the sky. Instead of the usual falling slowly from a blob, I was plummeting at unimaginable speeds towards.....a sandbox?

"OOF!~" I went headfirst into the sand. I instantly pulled my face up and coughed out all the grains in my mouth. Unfortunately, there were still plenty more lodged inside my throat. I quickly regained my stance.

"Well...it was a pretty suckish landing, but it saved my life....well _our_ lives, right?" I said as I brushed off some sand from my shoulder and waited for comment from the others. My heartbeat pounding faster as I waited for a teasing remark from the mage, in which I'd of course kick his ass afterward.

But there was no answer. I could already hear the crickets chirping in the background.

"Oh I see giving me the silent treatment...,"I turned around to see no one, not even the white bunny.

"Eh!? Is this some kind of joke!? Show yourselves!" I pointed in the direction of a completely withered tree and a few swing sets, that were mangled and rusted to the point in which I wasn't even sure if it was right to call them "swing sets" anymore. To my dismay, no one jumped out and said "Gotcha!"

I sulked my head a little.

A very skinny little boy walking with his mother passed by. I heard him.

"Mom...that girl is talking to herself..."

"Shhh....just keep walking and don't mind strangers dear. We have to find something for tonight...." She glanced at me for a second, I noticed her face was very scratched up. I could have sworn I hear her mumble," instead of just that girl, we may all be soon losing our minds..."

As I walked away from the 'playground', I looked down at my tattered shirt and shorts. Well, at least I fit in with the scenery and there was one word to describe it. _Depressing._

AND I WAS LOST IN THIS DEPRESSING WORLD! With no idea where the others were or where to go....its not like I had any magic or anything, although my reflexes had recently gotten a bit better.

"What the?" I peered my head up realizing I was far out of the park now and had ended up in a very urban, metropolitan area. It was not a nice looking street. Some buildings were in ruins, with only half the foundations standing. There were some people walking, their clothes looking as faded and torn as the mother and son earlier. Was this world in some sort of repression? I gulped, as I decided to try to talk.

"Um...excuse me? Hello? Has um, anyone seen a brunette boy, with a hazel haired princess, a girl with long black hair who smiles a lot, and a tall blond guy that has a really big smile too, and a buff raven haired guy? Oh yeah, they have this little round white bunny thing?"

Some people gave me a few stares, but pretty much everyone ignored me like I was from another planet, which wasn't too far off from the truth actually, and quickly went on their ways. I was starting to feel hysterical. This world was too much.

Well, everyone probably thought I was spouting nonsense. And it was pretty obvious they hadn't been in this part of town yet.

"Hm?" My eyes looked back over to make sure it hadn't been a mistake. Although the clothes were wrong, it had to be him! I felt so excited and relieved that I practically danced when I ran over in his direction.

I grabbed his shoulder,"My god! You know I've been looking for you and the others! I landed in this stupid sandbox! Where did you get the clothes?! ...and have you been fighting?", his shirt smelled of blood and sweat," Never mind that! Where are the others? Fai, say something!....wait, your eye!..."

His left eye was covered with a black eye patch. He stared at me, his eyes...well his "eye" was wide and he seemed completely speechless. He finally stuttered," H...how do you....know about Fai?...."

My eyebrow went up in question. I looked at him straight in the face," What are you getting at mage? Of course I know about Fai. _You're_ Fai, you idiot. I'm Aya, remember?"

He regained a normal composure, but the glint in his eye was still cautious and startled," I'm sorry, you're mistaken. My name is Yuui. You must be confusing me with someone else...and if you would be so kind as to let me go?" He started wriggling uncomfortably.

"Eh!? WHOA! I'm so sorry!", I instantly loosened my grip. I felt my face burn up in embarrassment. I had just been so happy to find someone, even if it was the stupid blond.

"Yuui...." I muttered under my breath. The name felt so familiar for some reason. I frowned. I wanted to believe didn't have the wrong person. He had the same face, but instead of a wide grin, his lips were pulled into a tight line. This _Yuui_ person....his personality was already reminding me of Fai, but...there were definitely some things that were different...

Then it hit me.

"Oh wait! You're the Fai of this world.....I remember now...what Yuuko said...but why do you call yourself Yuui? An alias?"I mumbled thoughtfully.

"Of this world?...and why do you keep mentioning Fai?" Yuui cut in, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. I had forgotten he was there.

"Eep! No, I was just talking to myself! You're really better off just not knowing, its a pretty depressing story...heheh..." I gulped nervously," Umm...sorry about before, you're right, I definitely have the wrong person. I'll uh...be on my way!" I attempted to quickly sprint off when a hand grabbed my wrist.

" Huh?...WAAH! What the hell are you doing!?" I yelled as I felt myself get dragged along.

"You're not going anywhere. I want some answers from you," he replied calmly as I struggled to claw to the cement of the sidewalk.

"This is kidnapping! This is assault! I'll have the authorities come after you! Oi, are you listening dandelion head!?"

He stopped walking for a second and looked over his shoulder," You're without a doubt a foreigner if you think the authorities will come to your aid around here. And besides," he turned around and started walking again. I saw his lips twitch into a grin for the first time. If it weren't for the eye patch, I would have mistaken him for Fai again," I'm not kidnapping. I'm merely taking a lovely stroll with my new friend."

"Stroll!? I'm being dragged on my ass down here! And we are _not_ friends!"

"Will you stop yelling and thrashing back there? Its starting to hurt my arm and its better not to attract any unwanted attention in this part of town..."

"Not until you let me go!"

He sighed,"You're like a stubborn child...fine, if I let you go, you will follow me and not run off, yes?"

"Grr...fine, got it. Its a promise," I retorted reluctantly. I was starting to wonder which one was harder to tolerate: the Fai of this world or the Fai I traveled with?

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the late update ppl! I hope this update makes up for it! I'll make sure to be faster!T^T It is short, but I really enjoyed writing this chapter because it made things so interesting! Thank you all my readers for making my story so loved!3 Reviews are appreciated if one is so kind to do so!~ I love hearing from you all**

**Some extra stuff that has nothing to do with the story:  
**

**An hour before I finished this chapter, I watched the movie "Schindler's List" that is based on a true story during the holocaust(since anything from WWII perks my interest). It is the tale of a man in the Nazi party named Oskar Schindler who changes from money hungry crook to being a savior of 1,100 Jews by making them work for him in a factory that benefits the war efforts(like making pots and bullets etc.) instead of being sent to the concentration/death camps. It was definitely an emotionally captivating movie, one of the best films I've ever seen, and it has a great soundtrack. At the end of the movie, you literally feel like someone punched straight through your gut, well at least it moved me that much. If you ever get the chance, I recommend this movie to you, though there are plenty of graphic scenes. People being killed with no ****second thought....not pretty :(**

**Sorry, I guess I seem depressing talking about all this****'^^**** ...it just really meant a lot to me. I have some german in me from my father's side and looking back at these events in history that involve a part of my background....you realize how better off you are with your life right now and you just hope something like during that time never happens again. It really hurts knowing all those horrible things occurred in real life.**


	11. Lost and Found

**Eleven chapters completed so far and plenty more reviews, hits, and even faves than I was expecting! I am very grateful to everyone who enjoys this story and made this possible! I couldn't have done it without you all! So super bear hugs to everyone T~T I love u guys 3**

**So everyone, I am really sorry for the big delay. When school was going on, I had so many finals that I had to study for and when summer began, I broke my leg during a soccer practice, so this story ended up on 'hold' big time when I was in the hospital and then getting my leg back into shape. ****So I really appreciate patience and I hope the wait wasn't too much strain for any of you. It really sucks being an author sometimes, because it feels like I am living two lives. But still, writing is a passion I hold dear :3 so don't expect me to stop any time soon.**

**In response to the people who have seen Schindler's List, the scene that probably struck me the hardest was when Schindler started crying in the end, thinking about how he could have saved more people and when the children were being sent to the gas chambers. I am really glad that many of you have seen it already. Its good for our generation to be aware of the cruelties and horrors of genocide. It saddens me that things like the holocaust are _still_ going on in countries such as Sudan.  
**

**

* * *

**

"This is where you _live!_?" I stared slack jawed at the room before me. There was no 'door' to the place. No, actually you just walked through some big hole in the wall.

"No, but isn't it _paradise_?," Yuui said sarcastically as he crawled through the hole.

"Hmph."

"Well, come on, get in. Are you just going to stand there scowling?"

"Heck yeah! I can't believe I'm following a complete stranger through a city that looks more like a graveyard!"

"If you hate this place so much, why did you come here?"

"Look, I didn't want to end up here, that white bunny can't control where we land! So here I am!- Oop!" I covered my lips with my hands. _Geez, me and my big mouth..._

Luckily, he hadn't heard. I sighed in relief.

" Hey look, you can stand out there if all you want for all I care."

"I'm coming, sheesh!" I stomped into the musty smelling space.

I slumped down against the wall and crossed my arms," So what do you want, Captain Dandelion?"

"You knew...that name..." He mumbled it from across the room

"Huh?"

"...F...Fai..." He stuttered like it was a poison in his mouth.

I put on my instant nonchalant tone,"Oh that. Well there's some people I've been traveling with and this guy who almost looks exactly like you is traveling with me. His name is Fai. I've been lost for a while so when I saw you, I thought it was him. Sorry about that again." I wasn't exactly telling everything, but I wasn't lying. I left the traveling to different worlds part out. If I had to explain the whole dimension thing, it would be chaos.

"Hmmmm..."

"_Hm_ what?"

"I...it has to be a coincidence I guess..."

I raised my eyebrow in question, but decided not to go any further into what nonsense he was blabbering about," So is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"...Yes..."

"WHAT? You mean to tell me that you dragged me all the way out here for **that**? I oughta rip that dandelion fluff from your head right now! ...waah...I knew I should have just sat and waited for them to find me..."

He leaned back and stretched onto one of the cots," Ah, well that's your loss then."

"What's with that attitude? I was searching for them and now..." I drooped my face down.

"Well you won't be now. It's best to stay indoors when the sun starts going down."

"Indoors! You call this _indoors!_?"

He pouted," Hey, keep your comments to a minimum..."

"Fine, Mr. Sensitive."

He sighed, "Geez, once again, you never fail to stoop yourself down to the level of a stubborn child. You should be thanking me for being one of the more lenient type. I'm letting you stay here..."

"Look I'm sorry-"

"...for now" He added.

"That totally ruined the good intent! How is that being lenient?"

"What? What did you say?" He pretended he couldn't hear me. He covered his ears.

"Hmph...look who's being a stubborn child now...Well could you at least mind telling me where we are?" I grumbled.

"Pfft. And you call yourself a traveler. You don't know where you are?"

I shook my head.

He ignored my question,"... this place is hopeless..." He said it like it was his fault this place was a dump.

"Why don't you just leave then?"

His eye rolled over in my direction," And where to?"

"Duh. Out of** here**."

He ignored me after that. I shrugged. I wasn't going to complain anymore. I just wanted to meet up with everyone and get the hell out of this rat hole...huh?...

"Hey look a shooting star..." I whispered in awe as I sat in front of the opening. Yuui heard me.

"A star?"

"A _shooting_ star, dumbass. I'm gonna make a wish!" I clasped my hands together. _Please...let me find you guys...Masumi, Fai, Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane, Mokona..._

"You're such a strange girl..." he said. I was hoping that was a compliment. That's when I noticed the light brightening._  
_

"Huh?...Hey is it just me or is the star getting bigger?" I squinted my eyes," P-people?..."

"You idiot, its not getting bigger, its getting **CLOSER!**" I felt him grab my sleeve and tug me away from the "BOOM!".

Suddenly, I could hear coughing and yelling from a very familiar voice coming from the dust. I gasped and ran outside.

"Ack! You damned pork bun, where are you? Didn't that witch ever teach you how to land properly!"

"Mokona can't help herself! Where we land, is where we're gonna land, Kuro-rin~!"

"Well at least we're all together, right? That's all that matters," I heard Syaoran say thoughtfully.

"Yeah...except for when you die from landing onto a surface of flaming coals, you won't be saying that **then**_,_" I heard Kurogane grumble.

"I think these landings are actually quite exciting, Kuro-chan~" Masumi teased.

"You bitch, you and the mage have to quit it with the stupid nicknames! IT'S KU-RO-GA-NE!"

"Hey...where's Aya?" Fai finally asked.

The group fell silent.

"I mean, Kuro-puu is still yelling, but its unusually, quiet, neh?~" He added. _  
_

I kicked the mage in the back. There was a quiet 'ouch'. "You fools, I'm right here! And _you're_ the ones who deserted me! Where have you been?"

"What...are you talking about?" Fai choked up, still wincing a little.

I crossed my arms, "You guys ditched me! For way too long, might I add!"

"But...you were with us the whole time...right?" Masumi said. I cringed as I stared at her bandaged arm. It still bothered me. Especially since I knew that injury was my fault. Back when the doctor from Spirit tried to kill me.

She seemed to notice my distress and sighed, " Aya, I'm fine. I told you already. And besides", she crossed her arms," You should be thanking your savior!"

"But Masu-"

_"_Say _Thank you."_

I gave up and grinned," Thanks best buddy."

She smiled," Always got your back...Now, to my original question. Weren't you with us the _whole time_?"

"You kidding me? I've been stuck here for...I guess almost a day?..."

"And you've already snapped?" Masumi said with a giggle.

"Well I wouldn't have if it wasn't for you!" I pointed at Fai," Or was it you! Oh I don't know anymore..."

"I think Aya missed us! Especially Mokona, right?" Mokona hopped into my hands.

"God...you don't even know how much I did, Moko." I smiled and gave her a little hug.

"I wonder how you got here a day before us though...and by yourself too..." Syaoran muttered to himself.

I was starting to wonder that too. If they just got here, then what about me? It was strange. Once again, this whole space/time crap never failed to confuse me.

"So you met someone?" Fai asked.

"Yes. His name was Yuui. I thought it sounded kinda familiar, but I know no one with that name...I think..." Fai's face was paler than usual when I looked at him again. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know that name?"

It took him a couple seconds to answer "No". I knew instantly the name meant something to him. But I decided to ignore the subject and save it for another time since he looked like he was going into a trance.

"Hmmm...oh right I forgot to explain. Though, he has this eye patch and his name's different, I think he's the you of this world? I dunno... I think he was...hey are you okay?...You're acting weird." I waved my hand in his face.

He blinked a little and finally replied quietly, " I'm fine," he then grinned, going back to his usual facade," Was the other me a lot to handle?"

"Oh my god, don't remind me. At first I mistook him for you...and you know what, I don't want to go through explaining that hell again."

Fai chuckled a little. I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, where did the that guy go?" I started to shout," Hey dandelion pirate! These are the people I've been looking for. Thanks...not that you helped much really. Actually, you made this place more unbearable than it already was! Hey!"

There was an awkward silence. It took me a second to realize that...

"I guess he's gone. Oh well, he annoyed me just like _someone else_ I know."

"You probably scared him," Fai teased.

"Do I scare you?" _  
_

"No, you don't scare me, but I will say you have wits. And you're a lot more observant and smart than I took you for in the beginning."

I was a bit surprised at the comment because it seemed completely out of character for him to do so." Um..uh..thanks?" I managed to stutter out.

He flashed a smile, but this one looked real for once. I started felt a strange warm feeling in my head. It wasn't uncomfortable though...it felt...nice?

" Mokona doesn't sense a feather here." Mokona said with a sigh as she let her ears fall back down.

"There doesn't seem to be any good places to rest up either," Sakura commented. I nodded in agreement. I was _not_ going back to that place with the hole in the wall and the ripped up furniture even for a million dollars.

"Well then lets get going. The faster we go, the faster to my world," Kurogane grumbled," Plus, this place is so depressing..."

"_Finally!_ Someone who agrees!" I said, relieved to know I wasn't the only one. However, as Mokona's magic circle spread out under our feet, I turned around to capture my last glimpse of this place. I definitely wouldn't miss it, but...I would never exactly know what happened to this country.

_"I hope you move on from whatever is bothering you and...that you'll somehow fix this place up, dandelion head."_ I muttered under my breath before we disappeared into the bunny's mouth.

* * *

_In another place..._

**"Yoմ fօօlʂ հad εղօմցհ ƈօմɾaցε tօ ƈօოε bმcƙ հεɾε ωiէհ nօtհinց?"** a voice boomed from the dark end of the room.

Kamen bowed solemnly, " She doesn't remember anything, but she seems to still have her...erm..abilities, master..."

**"Of ƈoմrʂε, yօմ ʂƈմო! Itʂ iղ հεr blօօd!"** the voice screamed.**  
**

Revulz stepped in, "We attempted with magic, but she was just too quick. We were not at fault-"

**"I հმνε hεaɾd εnօuցհ! I ωმʂ iɾɾმէiօnal էօ ενεղ tհiղƙ tհat ყօմ tωօ ωεrε ʂմitεძ fօɾ tհiʂ tმʂƙ. Yoմ bօtհ ωill rεʂuო****ε**** tօ yօմr uʂual đ****մti****εs."**

"But master!-"

**"Yoմ ωill rεʂuო****ε**** tօ yօմr uʂual đ****մti****εs...****մ****nlεss yօu ωant yօմr εჯεcմtiօn. I հმνε րlεnէყ օf ოεthօdʂ բօɾ ძiʂpօsiղց օբ ɾubbiʂհ tհმt I հმνε fօunძ էօ bε մʂεlεss."**

Kamen gulped and bowed again," As you wish, we will return to our usual posts." He quickly walked out of the room. Revulz not far behind.

Sweat trickled down his head. He scowled," That stupid girl...that was our only chance to get recognized by the master."

Revulz shook his head," Aren't you getting tired of being pushed around by that guy? Cause I am."

Kamen growled, "Don't question the master's authority, Revulz. You know he's more powerful than us anyway."

"If he is, why doesn't he just go himself?"

" There is no need for the master to go on such petty errands. However, I don't think he will be sending out any more of us again. I believe he is merely waiting now."

"For what?"

Kamen stopped walking, " I can't say I even know myself."

* * *

**So here it is! The end of chapter eleven. I must say, chapters 10 and 11 were sort of like fillers, I just wanted to have some fun sort of. With Aya landing in this world with another Fai...I know, l-a-m-e of me! :P But her landing here was still sort of important, but why? I won't say.**

**(I know! You all must hate me for keeping all these secrets lol!)  
**

**Anyway ,the world of Kamen and Revulz is still shrouded in mystery! Why are these people after Aya? How does this connect to her? What does Masumi know? Where will they land next? Why am I asking you all this? XD Wait for chapter 12!**


End file.
